AI And Cloud Investments And WeChat Pay Partnerships Will Strengthen Future Market Position

Key Takeaways

• Strategic investments in AI, cloud, and user acquisition partnerships are expected to drive strong revenue growth and improve long-term margins.
  
• Share repurchase efforts and operational efficiency enhancements are intended to boost shareholder value and contribute to profitability.
  
• Intense market competition and high investments in AI and cloud may pressure margins, limit revenue growth, and reduce cash flow despite government stimulus efforts.

Catalysts

Through its subsidiaries, provides technology infrastructure and marketing reach to help merchants, brands, retailers, and other businesses to engage with their users and customers in the People's Republic of China and internationally.

• The introduction of a 0.6% software service fee and increased adoption of the Quanzhantui marketing tool are expected to enhance Alibaba's monetization strategies, potentially stabilizing or increasing their take rate, which could positively impact CMR and overall revenue.
  
• Alibaba's focused investments in AI and cloud infrastructure are anticipated to drive strong demand for their cloud services, with triple-digit growth in AI-related products continuing. This expansion should boost cloud revenue and improve margins long-term due to the shift towards high-margin products.
  
• The company's emphasis on interoperability and expanding user acquisition strategies, particularly through partnerships like WeChat Pay, is expected to drive growth in monthly active consumers, which could subsequently lead to increased GMV and revenue.
  
• Significant investments in operational efficiency improvements and narrowing losses in areas like local services and digital media suggest a path toward increased net margins, ultimately contributing to profitability in these segments.
  
• The proactive share repurchase program, with a total of approximately USD 10 billion spent so far, aims to reduce share count significantly, enhancing shareholder value and potentially increasing EPS as shares outstanding decrease.

Alibaba Group Holding Future Earnings and Revenue Growth

Assumptions

• Analysts are assuming Alibaba Group Holding's revenue will grow by 7.7% annually over the next 3 years.
• Analysts assume that profit margins will increase from 8.9% today to 12.1% in 3 years time.
• Analysts expect earnings to reach CN¥145.2 billion (and earnings per share of CN¥64.23) by about December 2027, up from CN¥85.8 billion today. However, there is a considerable amount of disagreement amongst the analysts with the most bullish expecting CN¥193.1 billion in earnings, and the most bearish expecting CN¥108.8 billion.
• In order for the above numbers to justify the analysts price target, the company would need to trade at a PE ratio of 2.4x on those 2027 earnings, down from 17.1x today. This future PE is lower than the current PE for the US Multiline Retail industry at 19.5x.
• Analysts expect the number of shares outstanding to decline by 0.15% per year for the next 3 years.
• To value all of this in today's terms, we will use a discount rate of 8.04%, as per the Simply Wall St company report.

Alibaba Group Holding Future Earnings Per Share Growth

Risks

• Intense e-commerce competition and reliance on investment to drive user retention could pressure margins and limit revenue growth opportunities in key segments. (Net margins)
  
• The ongoing high levels of investment in AI and cloud infrastructure may lead to reduced free cash flow in the short term, if returns on investment in these technologies do not meet expectations. (Free cash flow)
  
• The potential inability to effectively monetize new business models with low current return rates could adversely impact future earnings growth. (Earnings)
  
• Macroeconomic uncertainties, despite government stimulus, could constrain consumer spending growth, impacting GMV and overall revenue performance. (Revenue)
  
• Subsidy programs and rebates to keep merchant costs low might cut into short-term profitability, reducing the available cash for profit reinvestment. (Net margins)

Valuation

• The analysts have a consensus price target of CN¥120.21 for Alibaba Group Holding based on their expectations of its future earnings growth, profit margins and other risk factors. However, there is a degree of disagreement amongst analysts, with the most bullish reporting a price target of CN¥145.45, and the most bearish reporting a price target of just CN¥84.55.
• In order for you to agree with the analyst's consensus, you'd need to believe that by 2027, revenues will be CN¥1202.0 billion, earnings will come to CN¥145.2 billion, and it would be trading on a PE ratio of 2.4x, assuming you use a discount rate of 8.0%.
• Given the current share price of CN¥88.98, the analyst's price target of CN¥120.21 is 26.0% higher.
• We always encourage you to reach your own conclusions though. So sense check these analyst numbers against your own assumptions and expectations based on your understanding of the business and what you believe is probable.