Alibaba is growing to the gross. The striking thing is that he is doing it in the opposite way to Amazon

Alibaba has just presented its results of fiscal year 2025 With a jump of 77% in net benefits, up to 18,000 million dollars. But the most striking are not those good figures, but the strategy behind.

Why is it important. While Amazon has been focusing on profitability and operational efficiencyAlibaba is doing exactly the opposite: prioritizing aggressive growth over margins, especially in international markets.

In figures. Chinese giant numbers reflect this bet:

• Revenues of 140,000 million dollars (996.3 billion yuan).
• International trade grew by 29%, up to 18,500 million dollars.
• Aliexpress It operates in more than 200 markets.
• The business Cloud It rose 11%, with products from growing to triple digit for seven consecutive quarters.

The contrast. Both companies live in 2025, but they go through different temporal lines:

• Amazon is in optimization phase: squeeze to the maximum AWS, I adjust prime and cuts operational costs to maximize each dollar of benefit.
• Alibaba acts as a growing company: Invest the gross in global infrastructure, Open Data Centers in Southeast Asia and burns box to gain fee.

The strategy difference reflects different moments:

• Amazon dominates mature markets where you must defend positions.
• Alibaba sees expansion opportunities, especially in Asia, the Middle East and emerging markets where competitive advantages can still set.

For making a more technological simile: it is an equivalent to Apple and OpenAi positions. One protects a legacy acting often defensive. The other has too much to win. And that explains the differences between the proceeding of both.

The results show that the bet is working:

1. Lada It approaches profitability for the first time.
2. Aliexpress consolidates its global position.
3. And the business Cloud It becomes the second growth engine.

Even secondary businesses such as Gaode maps They have achieved profitability. At the moment, quarterly.

In detail. There is something deeper in these opposite strategies: Amazon centralizes, alibaba decentralizes. Where Amazon standards the global experience from Seattle, Alibaba locates each market with specific platforms:

• Aliexpress for global consumers.
• Trendyol For Türkiye.
• Lada for Southeast Asia.

Each with its identity, local currency and cultural peculiarities.

This multiplatform strategy is working. The results show that there is no unique electronic commerce model: each market needs its own platform, adapted to specific customs and specific purchasing behaviors.

Alibaba is not limited to selling products either. Is exporting Chinese culture: Livestreams Purchasing, Festivals like him Singles Daygamified experiences. When Pop Mart does a Livestream From its offices and attracts 240,000 spectators buying collectible figures, we are seeing the evolution of commerce towards something cultural, almost anthropological.

Yes, but. Alibaba is also increasing the pressure on Chinese competitors (and in the Chinese market) with a new round of discount coupons of 7,000 million dollars in coupons for the next 12 months.

It is a sign that the price war in China is intensified.

In perspective. Alibaba is betting on Timing: He believes that the current moment justifies prioritizing positioning on margins. With the AI ​​putting up the technological sector and a list of emerging markets yet to conquer, the time to achieve world hegemony can be now or never.

The question is whether this growth strategy at all costs will be sustainable when markets mature. We have seen too many examples that responded “no”: Wework, Groupon either Moviepassto give a few.

In Xataka | China lives a little fever of investment in AI and an old acquaintance does not want to be left behind: Alibaba

Outstanding image | Alibaba