Alibaba's Stock Surges As Sales Beat Offsets Profit Miss

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.'s U.S.-listed shares surged 3.5% in premarket trade Thursday, after China's e-commerce giant beat fiscal fourth-quarter sales expectations, offsetting a profit miss. Earnings for the quarter ended March 31 increased 97% to the U.S. dollar equivalent of $793 million, or 33 cents a share. Excluding non-recurring items, adjusted earnings per share rose 1% to 47 cents, below the FactSet consensus of 55 cents. Revenue grew 39% to $3.75 billion, above the FactSet consensus of $3.57 billion. Gross merchandise volume transacted in China rose 24% to $115.0 billion, above the FactSet consensus of $113.2 billion. GMV transacted on Taobao marketplaces was $70.0 billion, beating the FactSet consensus of $67.3 billion. The stock has dropped 6.7% year to date through Wednesday, while the S&P 500 has gained 0.4%.