Alibaba's Stock Jumps After Profit, Revenue Rise Above Expectations

Shares of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. shot up 4.6% in active premarket trade Thursday, after the China-based e-commerce giant reported fiscal first-quarter profit and sales that rose above expectations. Net income for the quarter to June 30 increased 96% to the equivalent of $2.07 billion, while earnings per share rose 92% to 83 cents. Excluding non-recurring items, adjusted EPS came to $1.17, beating the FactSet consensus of 93 cents. Revenue grew 56% to $7.40 billion, above the FactSet consensus $7.12 billion. Mobile monthly active users increased 24% to 529 million. Cloud computing revenue rose 96% to $359 million, as cloud computing paying customers increased 75% to 1.01 million. "Our technology is driving significant growth across our business and strengthening our position beyond core commerce," said Chief Executive Daniel Zhang. The stock has soared 82% year to date through Wednesday, while the S&P 500 has gained 10%.