The Hangzhou-based firm operates some of China's most widely used online shopping platforms, making its performance a bellwether for consumer sentiment.

The company is enjoying a comeback with its share price soaring so far this year and legendary co-founder Jack Ma being pictured with President Xi Jinping after spending several years out of the public eye.

It said Thursday that revenue rose eight percent to 280 billion yuan (38.4 billion) in the three months through December, exceeding the 277 billion yuan estimated by a Bloomberg pool of analysts.

Net income attributable to ordinary shareholders jumped to nearly 49 billion yuan, a rise of 239 percent, the company said.

"This quarter's results demonstrated substantial progress in our 'user first, AI-driven' strategies and the re-accelerated growth of our core businesses," Alibaba CEO Eddie Wu said.

"We will continue to execute against our strategic priorities in e-commerce and cloud computing, including further investment to drive long-term growth," he added.

Alibaba has benefitted from a strong rally among Chinese technology stocks and has seen its shares soar over 40 percent so far this year.

The strong upturn has owed much to investor optimism over Chinese breakthroughs in artificial intelligence, with insurgent firm DeepSeek causing a global stir last month with an AI chatbot that seemingly matches US peers at a fraction of the cost.

- Stimulate spending -

Thursday's results came as China battles slowing economic growth, with weak consumption adding to high youth unemployment and a debt crisis in the crucial property sector.

Beijing has unveiled a string of measures designed to stimulate spending, from rate cuts to easing restrictions on home purchases.

In a rare meeting with business leaders this week, Xi acknowledged the challenges faced by the private sector but called them "temporary rather than long-term, and surmountable rather than unsolvable".

Xi lauded China's socialist market system and called on entrepreneurs to "unify" around the ruling Communist Party's policies, urging them to "see the prospects, see the light, and see the future", state media reported.

A surprise participant at the meeting was Ma, the Alibaba co-founder who remains one of China's most recognisable business luminaries but has kept a low profile in recent years.

The charismatic billionaire once spoke boldly about the shortcomings of China's financial and regulatory systems but has held his tongue in recent years following Xi's sweeping crackdown on the tech sector and the scuttling of Alibaba affiliate Ant Group's IPO.

Ma is no longer an executive at Alibaba but is believed to retain a significant shareholding in the company.

State media showed him applauding as Xi entered the meeting hall and shaking hands with the Chinese leader, but did not say whether he addressed the conference and published no remarks from him.

mjw/sn

Alibaba