Last Updated -
January 28, 2026
Explore the business model, global strategy, and market performance including insights into its position in China.
Alibaba Group Holding Limited was founded in 1999 by Jack Ma and is headquartered in Hangzhou, China. The company built its scale through digital commerce and now runs a broad consumer and enterprise ecosystem, including Taobao, Tmall, 1688, Alibaba.com, AliExpress, Lazada, Trendyol, and Daraz, alongside Alibaba Cloud.
Alibaba states its mission as “to make it easy to do business anywhere,” with a focus on serving consumers, merchants, and enterprises through technology and logistics. In recent quarters, management has put more weight on AI and cloud infrastructure as key long-term growth priorities.
Structurally, Alibaba has been simplifying its portfolio around commerce and consumer services. In June 2025 it moved Ele.me and Fliggy into its core e-commerce business to build a broader consumer platform that includes fast delivery and local services. Alipay is operated by Ant Group, where Alibaba holds a 33% stake, so payments exposure is mainly through that affiliate relationship.
Leadership is chaired by Joe Tsai, with Eddie Wu as Chief Executive Officer. Since August 28, 2024, Alibaba has been dual primary listed in Hong Kong and New York.
Alibaba runs a platform-led model that connects consumers, merchants, brands, and service providers across commerce, logistics, payments, and cloud. Management now frames the group around two long-term engines: e-commerce and “AI + Cloud.”
Alibaba remains one of the central platforms in China’s consumer internet. It cited Analysys data calling its China retail commerce business the world’s largest by GMV over the twelve months ended March 31, 2025.
The competitive set is crowded and price-led, spanning JD.com and PDD in commerce, Meituan in local services and instant retail, and Huawei and Tencent in cloud. Reuters reported heavy spending across Alibaba, JD.com, and Meituan to defend share in food delivery and instant retail, with pressure on near-term margins.
Alibaba is also pushing AI into consumer workflows, integrating services like Taobao, Alipay, and Fliggy into its Qwen app to turn chat into transactions.
China is Alibaba’s home market and the center of its consumer ecosystem, anchored by Taobao and Tmall. The main operating trend is faster delivery paired with heavier discounting. Taobao Instant Commerce, built with Ele.me, passed 40 million daily orders within a month of launch. Reuters later reported that Taobao instant commerce plus Ele.me reached 80 million daily orders in early July 2025, as the instant retail price war intensified and drew regulatory scrutiny.
In the quarter ended September 30, 2025, Alibaba beat revenue estimates as instant retail traction improved, while net profit fell due to investment and subsidies.
Shopping festivals still act as demand spikes. Syntun estimated RMB 1.70 trillion in sales across major platforms during the 2025 Singles’ Day period, with Alibaba reporting sales growth during the event.
Alibaba is also pushing AI into everyday consumer flows in China. In January 2026, it upgraded the Qwen app to complete tasks like food orders and travel bookings inside chat, and said the app surpassed 100 million monthly active users within two months of its public beta launch.
Alibaba is steering growth around two priorities: defending its share in China commerce while building an AI and cloud profit engine.
Challenges ahead include EU regulatory and cost headwinds for cross-border parcels. The EU has accused AliExpress of failures under the Digital Services Act, and it plans a €3 duty on low-value parcels from July 1, 2026. Price wars in China instant delivery also pressure margins and attract regulatory scrutiny.
This Company Profile was written by Dominik Diemer
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