Alibaba vs Amazon, side by side
Both combine online shopping with large cloud-computing arms, and both are often compared as versions of the same idea in different markets. Amazon runs online retail across the US and much of the world, plus AWS cloud and a growing advertising business. Alibaba is the e-commerce leader in China with its own Alibaba Cloud, and it carries extra Chinese regulatory and geopolitical risk.
On our factor screen it looks strongest on value and income, and weakest on momentum.
On our factor screen it looks strongest on growth and momentum, and weakest on income.
The numbers, side by side
| Measure |  Alibaba Group Holding Limited |  Amazon |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $122.25 | $271.58 |
| Market cap: The company's total value on the stock market - share price times the number of shares. Big = 'large-cap', small = 'small-cap'. | $293.02B | $2.92T |
| P/E: Price-to-earnings: the share price divided by yearly profit per share. Lower can mean cheaper; higher often means investors expect fast growth. | 17.9 | 21.8 |
| Div yield: Dividend yield: the yearly dividend as a percentage of the share price - roughly the income you'd earn just from dividends. | 0.9% | 0.0% |
| Revenue growth | 2.9% | 19.6% |
| 1Y: How much the share price has moved over the past year. | +5% | +18% |
More measures
| Forward P/E: Price-to-earnings: the share price divided by yearly profit per share. Lower can mean cheaper; higher often means investors expect fast growth. | 13.5 | 26.7 |
|---|---|---|
| Net margin | 10.1% | 17.4% |
| ROE | 9.2% | 30.6% |
| Beta: How bumpy the share price is versus the whole market. Above 1 swings more than the market; below 1 is calmer. It's about the ride, not whether it goes up or down. | 0.50 | — |
The bolder figure is simply the larger of the two - higher is not automatically good (a higher P/E means more expectation in the price; a higher beta means bigger swings).
How they differ
Amazon is roughly 10x the size of Alibaba Group Holding Limited by market value. On our factor screen Alibaba Group Holding Limited currently screens higher on income and value, while Amazon screens higher on momentum and growth. Amazon trades on the higher P/E (21.8 vs 17.9), so more expectation is already built into its price; and Alibaba Group Holding Limited pays a dividend (0.9%) while Amazon pays little or none. Over the past year the share prices moved +5% (Alibaba Group Holding Limited) vs +18% (Amazon).
Descriptive only - how the two compare on today's data, never a verdict on either.
Alibaba Group Holding Limited, in one line
Alibaba is a massive Chinese technology giant that operates the world's largest online marketplaces and provides cloud computing services.
Read the full Alibaba Group Holding Limited explainer →Amazon, in one line
Amazon is a global giant that started as an online bookstore and now dominates everything from internet shopping to the cloud computing that powers the web.
Read the full Amazon explainer →What to weigh
If dividend income matters to you, the yields differ (0.9% Alibaba Group Holding Limited vs 0.0% Amazon). These are facts to understand, not a verdict - read each full explainer before deciding anything.
Common questions
Is Alibaba just the Amazon of China?
It is a common shorthand because both pair online shopping with a big cloud business, but it is not exact. Amazon owns much of its logistics and serves customers directly, while Alibaba runs marketplaces connecting merchants and shoppers. Alibaba also operates mainly within China and its rules.
What extra risks does Alibaba carry compared with Amazon?
Alibaba is exposed to Chinese government regulation, which has intervened in its business before, and to wider tensions between China and other countries. Its US-listed shares also sit in a special structure rather than direct ownership. Amazon faces regulation too, but not the same China-specific political and listing risks.