BEIJING, July 15, 2026, 23:07 CST.
Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA; HKG:9988) jumped 6.2% in late-morning New York trade after China approved Apple Intelligence for local use and Alibaba said Qwen would get integrated across Apple’s main operating systems in China. Alibaba’s American depositary receipts climbed $6.95, adding about $16.7 billion in equity value, based on its 2.40 billion shares outstanding. The companies didn’t give any launch date or commercial terms.
The jump during the day is close to 73% of Alibaba’s projected fiscal 2026 cloud revenue and more than eight times its annual adjusted EBITA from the cloud, which is Alibaba’s version of operating profit. The price is for validation, not delivered cash flow.
Apple Inc. NASDAQ:AAPL shipped about 11.9 million iPhones in mainland China in the second quarter, based on IDC’s early numbers showing 66 million smartphones moved and Apple’s 18.1% share. This gives Qwen a new base of about 12 million iPhones for the quarter, not counting iPads and Macs. It’s unclear which devices will work or how many users will opt in.
| Measure | Latest figure | Investor comparison |
|---|---|---|
| Alibaba’s market cap jumped in trading | About $16.7 billion | Equals 73% of the company’s yearly cloud sales |
| Cloud revenue for fiscal 2026 | $22.92 billion, up 34% | Largest growth rate across Alibaba’s main divisions |
| Fiscal 2026 cloud adjusted EBITA | $2.07 billion, rose 35% | 9.0% margin; share jump runs over 8 times this number |
| Apple Q2 shipments in China | Roughly 11.9 million units, initial estimate | 24.4% ahead of last year |
The regulator said Apple Intelligence is registered but didn’t give a launch date. Reuters said the service will use Alibaba and Baidu Inc. NASDAQ:BIDU tech. Alibaba said Qwen will be built into iOS, iPadOS, macOS and visionOS. Baidu said it’s working on features for Chinese iPhone users.
Traders put more short-term importance on Alibaba than Apple or Baidu. Alibaba’s Hong Kong stock closed earlier, but all three U.S.-listed shares were still moving in New York’s regular session.
| Security | Connection to Apple Intelligence | Market status | Move |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alibaba NYSE:BABA | Qwen model supplier | Open, 10:52 a.m. ET | +6.2% |
| Alibaba HKG:9988 | Hong Kong shares | Closed | +2.35% |
| Apple NASDAQ:AAPL | Device and OS platform | Open, 10:52 a.m. ET | +3.1% |
| Baidu NASDAQ:BIDU | Extra China AI supplier | Open, 10:52 a.m. ET | +2.8% |
Apple’s shipments bounced back, but AI wasn’t the main reason. IDC analyst Arthur Guo said, “Huawei and Apple held their prices steady while competitors were raising theirs.” That move let Apple take its market share in China up from 13.9% to 18.1%, according to IDC’s early data. Total smartphone shipments in the country dropped 4.3%. IDC
Alibaba’s management is under pressure to show that its big AI investments are driving business. Cloud revenue for the March quarter rose 38%. Revenue from external customers climbed 40%, with AI-related products making up 30% of those external sales. CEO Eddie Wu said in May, “our technology investments are beginning to pay off commercially.” The company also said it now expects to spend more than its planned 380 billion yuan, or about $56 billion, over three years. Reuters
The way this gets commercialized is still up in the air. A licensing fee might mean new high-margin model revenue, or Alibaba Cloud could get a lift from server load. If this mostly runs on Apple devices, though, the outcome could be more about brand recognition and credibility with developers, offering less new sales. Wednesday’s disclosure didn’t clarify which path is coming.
The deal looks good on paper, but there’s not much clarity here. Apple is still working with Baidu and Alibaba, and the regulator called Apple Intelligence an on-device service. There’s no launch timeline. Alibaba’s adjusted EBITA for the March quarter dropped 84%, and free cash flow turned negative by $2.51 billion as spending on tech and quick-commerce went up. That leaves Alibaba little room for a deal that drives usage but doesn’t boost returns.
The key metric isn’t just selling the first Qwen-enabled iPhone. Investors are watching for actual paid calls to the Qwen model, license revenue, or a clear jump in cloud demand tied to it. Apple’s registration means Alibaba can name a big reference customer, but after the $17 billion repricing Wednesday, the market will need to see a lot more revenue to justify that mark-up.
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