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How to buy Alibaba (BABA) shares from Australia
Is now the time to invest in the Chinese e-commerce giant?
Alibaba Group (BABA) is a Chinese multinational e-commerce, retail, artificial intelligence (AI) and payments technology company listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Today it's the biggest retailer in the world and its annual 24-hour shopping event Singles Day racks up of tens of billions of dollars in sales each year, surpassing all US retailers combined.
To buy shares in Alibaba you'll need to open a share trading account with a broker that offer US stocks. Follow our guide to get an update on the company's latest performance, its broker rating and a list of trading platforms that offer BABA shares.
Recent stock performance of BABA
Before investing in a company like Alibaba, it's important to review its past stock prices, recent news headlines and its latest profit results. Remember, past performance is no guarantee of future results.
This is not a recommendation, it represents a technical analysis based on the most popular technical indicators: Moving Averages, Oscillators and Pivots. Finder might not concur and takes no responsibility.
Alibaba's financial performance
Review how Alibaba has performed over the past three years.. All figures shown are in Chinese Yuan (CNY/¥).
| Year | Revenue | Operating income | Net income | Total assets | Total equity | Employees |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | CN¥101.143 billion | CN¥29.102 billion | CN¥71.289 billion | CN¥364.450 billion | CN¥249.539 billion | 34,985 |
| 2017 | CN¥158.273 billion | CN¥48.055 billion | CN¥41.226 billion | CN¥506.812 billion | CN¥321.129 billion | 50,092 |
| 2018 | CN¥250.266 billion | CN¥69.314 billion | CN¥61.412 billion | CN¥717.124 billion | CN¥436.438 billion | 66,421 |
Alibaba's technical performance
Technical analysis is the mathematical study of a stock's price based on its recent trends. Here's what several key technical indicators are saying about Alibaba's current stock trend, according to charting service TradingView.
Compare trading platforms that offer Alibaba shares
How to stay up to date with Alibaba stock
When buying or selling shares in any company, pay attention to its current affairs by monitoring elements like:
- Financial reporting. Company's typically release financial reports twice a year, however this isn't always the case. Alibaba reports annually on March 31st as well as quarterly. These reports let you know how the company is performing, which affects the stock price.
- Company news. Keep an eye on the news. New product releases, global expansion and changes to senior management can affect a company's stock price.
- Wider news. External geopolitical events often affect Alibaba's share price. This includes policy changes in both the US and China as well as trade disputes and political announcements.
- Does the company pay dividends? If a company pays dividends, they pay some of their profits back to shareholders. Currently, Alibaba does not pay dividends on their shares.
- Shareholder meetings. Often held annually, these meetings invite large shareholders to attend and vote on matters relating to the company, pushing the direction of the company.
Things to consider before investing
- What does the company do? Companies are rarely straight forward in the services they provide. Alibaba is known for its shopping platform, but it also engages in cloud computing, payments technology, mobile entertainment and artificial intelligence.
- Is it making profits? Stay on top of Alibaba's annual earnings reports as this can affect its stock price. In the 18/19 FY, Alibaba reporter 114.92 billion yuan in profits, 42% up from the year before.
- Who are the main competitors? Know if the company is a market leader, a newcomer or a fast-growing disrupter. If the company you're considering operates globally, keep an eye on foreign competition as well.
- Who runs the company? Knowing the leaders can tell you something about the company's stability and management style. Alibaba's renowned founder Jack Ma stepped down in September as the CEO replaced by Daniel Zhang.
- Is the company's position sustainable? If you're looking for a long-term investment, you need to evaluate the likelihood of the company sticking around. If you're looking for a short-term gain, this is less important.
- Is there room for future growth? Look at the company's outlook for medium- to long-term growth to determine whether it's reached its maximum size or has room to grow.
Bottom line
No company is infallible — not even one that makes over double the GDP of Liechtenstein. Before buying or selling stock in Alibaba, do your research and make sure you're comfortable with the risks.
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