Alibaba posts 5% rise in quarterly revenue on AI, cloud computing momentum

Core Viewpoint - Alibaba Group Holding reported a 5% increase in revenue for the September quarter, driven by growth in its cloud and AI businesses [1] Financial Performance - Total revenue reached 247.8 billion yuan (US$34.8 billion) for the financial second quarter ended September 30, surpassing the consensus estimate of 245.2 billion yuan [2] - Net income attributable to ordinary shareholders fell 52% to 21 billion yuan from 43.9 billion yuan a year ago, but was better than the analyst estimate of 9.2 billion yuan [3] Strategic Initiatives - CEO Eddie Wu Yongming stated that the company is in an investment phase to build long-term strategic value in AI technologies and infrastructure [4] - Alibaba has committed US$52 billion for capital spending on computing resources and AI infrastructure, marking it as China's largest-ever computing project financed by a single private business [5] Market Outlook - Wu indicated that strong demand for AI may lead to increased investment in AI infrastructure, as the current pace of adding new servers is insufficient to meet customer orders [6] - The company does not foresee significant issues regarding the so-called AI bubble in the next two to three years, citing a continued undersupply of AI infrastructure resources [7]