China online shopping leader JD.com Inc. (JD) surprised the Street with first quarter results that beat the consensus earnings forecasts.
The company is gaining ground on Alibaba. JD.com Inc. is China’s second-largest online retailer. They reported a 47% year-over-year (YoY) increase in revenues.
They stand at a distant second to China’s Alibaba Holdings Group Ltd. (BABA) in ecommerce. JD.com’s online sales stand at about $95 billion per year. However, Alibaba’s stand at $450 billion.
The middle class is growing fast in the world’s most populous country. As a result, demand for digital services and next-gen tech has propelled these stocks to new highs.
In the most recent Q1, JD.com grew faster than Alibaba. Furthermore, it posted its first profit since going public in 2014. The company attributed its strength to its end-to-end business model as it diversifies into data, cloud and artificial intelligence services. In addition, the company reported adjusted earnings of $0.15 per share on revenues of $11.1 billion. This surpassed estimates of $0.01 per share on sales of $10.6 billion.
The company has been able to gain that share by using a different business model than Alibaba. And it is building out its own extensive logistics network.
