Chinese e-commerce major Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) continues to draw investor attention as it doubles down on artificial intelligence, cloud infrastructure, and instant-commerce delivery.
The stock has gained 98% year-to-date, reinforcing its reputation as a bellwether for China’s tech sector. The broader NYSE Composite, which includes Alibaba, is up nearly 12% over the same period.
However, Alibaba’s long-term AI ambitions face a structural risk: U.S. restrictions on advanced Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA) AI chips.
Also Read: Alibaba AI Crushes Rivals In Crypto Trading, Matches GPT-5 In Math
Washington’s export curbs continue to limit Chinese technology firms’ access to high-end processors required for large-scale model training and deployment.
CEO Wu Touts “Super AI Cloud” At Wuzhen
At the 2025 World Internet Conference in Wuzhen, CEO Eddie Wu said Alibaba is aggressively investing in large-scale AI infrastructure and building a “super AI cloud” for developers globally, TechNode reported.
Wu said more than 20.7% of developers on Alibaba’s ModelScope — known locally as Moda — operate in teams of fewer than 50 people, while 13.7% are independent creators.
He also noted that the platform’s “Creation Space” channel currently hosts about 23,000 AI applications across more than 20 industries, with roughly 95% developed by individual contributors.
The remarks underscored the company’s goal of broadening access to generative-AI tools and reducing development friction.
Pair-Trade Pays: Long Alibaba, Short Meituan
The firm’s AI-led upswing has fueled a surge in relative performance versus on-demand rival Meituan (OTC:MPNGY).
According to Bloomberg, a long-Alibaba/short-Meituan trade has returned roughly 130% year-to-date.
Alibaba’s shares have rallied nearly 100% on AI enthusiasm, while Meituan has stumbled as it cedes share in food delivery.
Shanghai-based analyst Julia Pan of UOB Kay Hian Holdings told Bloomberg that Alibaba’s strong balance sheet gives it the capacity to maintain subsidies and adjust strategies quickly.
She expects the pair-trade to stay profitable as Alibaba extends its lead.
Offline Services Seen As Next Contest
Willer Chen of Mizuho Securities Asia told Bloomberg that Alibaba’s expansion into offline services could define the next phase of competition.
The company recently widened its app to support local merchants and introduced in-store dining vouchers in three Chinese cities, with nationwide rollout likely.
The effort underscores Alibaba’s push to capture transactions that occur beyond its online marketplace. Despite persistent price competition, analysts remain constructive.
At the same time, some remain cautious. Aberdeen Investments’ Xin-Yao Ng told Bloomberg Alibaba has been steadily losing e-commerce market share and will continue spending heavily to stem the decline.
He remains cautious, noting the drag on e-commerce profits is likely to outweigh cloud-business growth for the foreseeable future.
Price Action: Alibaba shares were trading lower by 2.12% to $164.05 premarket at last check Friday.
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