BABA(US:BABA) Hua Er Jie Jian Wen·2025-11-26 06:37Core Insights - Alibaba's latest financial report indicates a strategic shift from pursuing scale in its instant retail business "Flash Purchase" to controlling losses, which may support future profit recovery for the group [1][2] Financial Performance - For Q3, Alibaba reported a revenue increase of 4.8% year-on-year to 247.8 billion yuan, but Non-GAAP net profit plummeted 71.7% to 10.35 billion yuan, primarily due to significant investments in the Flash Purchase business [1] - The adjusted EBITA for Alibaba's Chinese e-commerce group fell sharply by 76.3% to 10.5 billion yuan, with the strategic investment in Flash Purchase being the main drag [2] Strategic Focus - Alibaba's management confirmed that the current quarter represents a peak in investment for the Flash Purchase business, with expectations of a significant reduction in investment in the next quarter as the focus shifts to loss reduction [2] - Analysts from CITIC Securities believe that the investment in Flash Purchase may have peaked, indicating a strategic shift towards enhancing profitability [1][2] Operational Efficiency - There are positive signs of improved operational efficiency in the Flash Purchase business, with average losses per order halving since July-August, while maintaining stable order share [3] - The unit economic model (UE) for Flash Purchase has shown significant improvement since September, suggesting that prior investments are beginning to yield operational returns [3] Cloud Business Performance - Alibaba Cloud's revenue grew by 34.5% year-on-year to 39.82 billion yuan, becoming a highlight of the financial report, with AI-related revenue experiencing triple-digit growth for nine consecutive quarters [4][5] - The management noted strong demand for AI, with capital expenditures reaching 31.5 billion yuan to enhance AI computing power and cloud infrastructure [4][5] Market Outlook - Investment banks have adjusted their short-term profit forecasts for Alibaba, with Huatai Research raising its FY26 Non-GAAP net profit estimate by 10.1% to 105.8 billion yuan, citing better-than-expected loss reduction in the Flash Purchase business [6] - CITIC Securities forecasts a Non-GAAP net profit of 114.2 billion yuan for FY26, with a strong rebound of 40% expected in FY27, reaching nearly 160 billion yuan [6]