ALIBABA: THE RETURN OF JACK MA
Alibaba was founded in 1999 by Jack Ma and is considered one of the most successful Chinese businesses that has grown into one of the world’s leading tech companies. For years Alibaba was described as a combined Amazon and eBay, but its expansion into payment systems, cloud computing and artificial intelligence has meant it now competes head to head with its American counterparts. The comeback of Jack Ma is seen as a positive sign generating excitement ahead of upcoming earnings.
- JACK MA AND ALIBABA: RAGS TO RICHES
Alibaba and Jack Ma’s story is one of ‘rags to riches’. A former schoolteacher, Ma founded Alibaba as a company to help small and medium sized Chinese businesses compete globally, just ahead of China’s entry into the World Trade Organization. Amid challenges Ma successfully got funding from investors like Goldman Sachs and SoftBank enabling Alibaba to grow rapidly. By 2011 the company expanded into digital payments, Alipay. Ma famously rejected a $1 billion bid from eBay to acquire the company. Jack Ma was considered the modern face of China and perhaps the future of the country. In fact, Ma, had grown into a powerful figure that was both popular in the US and among ordinary employees and he felt free to occasionally criticise China’s regulatory system. Some even speculated he could enter politics.
- A FALL FROM GRACE: HAS ANYBODY SEEN JACK?
By 2018 Jack Ma, now a billionaire and China’s richest man, indicated that he might resign. The following year he quit as Chairman amid reports that he had fallen out of favour with the Chinese communist party. While Ma guarded the company from open political interference, Beijing tightened its control over Chinese tech companies and had begun to subject Alibaba to regulatory scrutiny, slowing business expansion. By 2020 Jack Ma had stepped down from the Alibaba board but remained a major shareholder in the company. Since then he had practically disappeared from public view completely, leading to extensive media and market speculation as to whether he was at liberty or if something else had happened.
- ROCK STAR CEO RETURNS TO INCREASE ALIBABA’S AI DRIVE
Around April 2024 Jack Ma re-emerged and made some public statements in relation to Alibaba, but the clearest signal that Ma would return to Alibaba was an appearance at a Chinese government tech leaders forum in February 2025 with President Xi. For the time being Ma doesn’t have an official board title at Alibaba, but he is involved in strategic decisions and operations. His return has reportedly boosted employee morale. Reports say that the man who first understood the potential of online transactions wants the company to lead the drive towards innovation and AI technologies.
- ALIBABA: WHERE DOES THE COMPANY STAND?
Alibaba’s stock performance in 2025 reflects investor optimism regarding its recent AI investment. Shares are up over 94% so far this year and have been trading at their highest levels for four years, outperforming most of its peers in the tech sector. In the previous earnings quarter the company reported a 7% year on year increase in revenue, with AI and cloud services driving growth. The company continues to lead in the e-commerce sector. In September the company announced it would enter into AI related cooperation with NVIDIA, the leading AI chip maker. In the same month Alibaba announced it would invest around $53 billion in AI infrastructure over three years.
- WHAT TO EXPECT IN THE EARNINGS SEASON?
Alibaba is expected to post its earnings on November 13th and markets believe the company is likely to beat expectations due to continued cloud computing growth and AI investments. It will be interesting to see guidance and future projections the company provides and whether an update will be given about Alibaba’s development of its own custom AI accelerators. The company is expected to be among the top performers in delivering an earnings beat in comparison to its AI linked rivals.
Conclusion
The return of Jack Ma is a welcome boost to the company in terms of bringing fresh ideas and boosting employee morale and reassuring investors. However, the fact remains that in his absence Alibaba continued to grow and evolve. If Ma’s influence helps accelerate the company’s AI push and international expansion Alibaba then the future could be even brighter.