Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) held the annual Singles Day on November 11. The company did not provide the sales figures for the event as it used to do in previous years. Markets next look forward to the company’s earnings for the September quarter.
Alibaba pioneered the Singles Day sale in 2009. Since then, it has grown into a mega shopping festival in China and multiple other e-commerce companies like JD.com participate in the event.
Last year, Alibaba reported sales of $84.5 billion on Singles Day, a new record. However, the sales increased by only 8.45% which was the slowest pace of increase since the event was launched.
To be sure, markets had tepid expectations from this year’s Singles Day considering the deepening slowdown in the world’s second-largest economy. China even delayed the release of its Q3 GDP as its Politburo meeting was underway.
Commenting on the Singles Day sales this year, Alibaba said, it “delivered results in line with last year’s GMV performance despite macro challenges and Covid-related impact.”
Alibaba Did Not Provide the Sales Figures for the Singles Day event
Chui Xue, President of Industry Development and Operation Center of Taobao and Tmall, Alibaba Group said, “Our priority for this 11.11 was to enhance certainty for our merchants’ operation. We are pleased to have helped our participating brands and merchants accumulate new loyal customers during the festival which will serve as a strong foundation for their sustainable operation.”
He added, that the Singles Day sales showed the “resilience and vibrancy of China’s consumption sector.” That said, this year’s sales growth is even below the record lows of last year.
The stringent COVID-19 restrictions are taking a toll on the Chinese economy. While the country has relaxed some of the restrictions amid a sagging economy, they are still quite strict looking at the global picture.
It’s not that only Alibaba has not disclosed the Singles Day sales numbers. Rival JD.com also did not reveal the number but said that sales were at a record high and its performance was better than the industry average. Both JD.com and Alibaba trade on Shanghai as well as Hong Kong stock exchanges.
BABA to Reports Q2 Earnings This Week
BABA would release its earnings for the fiscal second quarter of 2022 this week. Analysts expect it to post revenues of $29.5 billion in the quarter, a YoY rise of 4%. Notably, in the June quarter, the company’s revenues were marginally lower on a YoY basis. It was the first time since it went public that Alibaba posted a fall in revenues.
Analysts expect Alibaba to post an adjusted EPS of $1.63 in the September quarter, a YoY rise of 3.5%. Meanwhile, markets would also watch out for commentary on the Singles Day say.
Even in the US, Amazon did not provide the sales breakup for its second Prime Day which was held in October. While it said that the event received a “great” response, most analysts believe that sales growth was tepid amid high inflation and economic slowdown in the country.
BABA stock fell below the IPO price last month after the Politburo meeting in China. Many feared that China would push back even further from reforms as Xi Jinping tightened his grip on the country. Jinping cracked down on tech giants as he pushed for his “common prosperity” agenda.
Analysts See Alibaba Stock as Undervalued
US-listed Chinese stocks face the dual whammy of increased scrutiny by the US SEC. After the Luckin Coffee accounting scandal, the US passed The Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act mandates that foreign companies listed in the US would risk delisting if does not comply with the US PCAOB’s (Public Company Accounting Oversight Board) audits for three years in a row.
Meanwhile, many analysts see Alibaba stock as a buy, citing its relative undervaluation as compared to other e-commerce companies. We have a list of companies that look undervalued as compared to their peers.
Related stock news and analysis
- How to Buy Amazon Stocks in 2022
- Best China Cryptocurrency Projects to Invest in 2022
- Elon Musk Faces a Reality Check with his Twitter Acquisition
IMPT - New Eco Friendly Crypto
- Carbon Offsetting Crypto & NFT Project
- Industry Partnerships, Public Team
- Listed on LBank, Uniswap
- Upcoming Listings - Bitmart Dec 28, Gate.io Jan 1st