NEW YORK, Jan 24, 2026, 11:07 EST — The market has closed.
- Alibaba’s shares listed in the U.S. slipped on Friday as investors prepare for Monday, focusing on China’s position regarding Nvidia’s H200 chip orders.
- A Bloomberg report revealed officials have told Alibaba and other tech firms to get ready for H200 orders, suggesting a potential move to allow high-end AI chips.
- Coming soon: official guidance from regulators or companies, plus the date for Alibaba’s next earnings release.
Alibaba Group Holding’s shares on the U.S. market ended Friday at $173.23, down 2.2%. During the session, the stock swung between $171.98 and $177.00. Trading volume hit around 13.1 million shares, matching typical daily turnover.
The new trigger here is access to computing power. For investors in Chinese tech, the focus isn’t on any one product cycle. It’s whether leading companies can consistently secure the hardware required to train and operate the latest AI systems.
Bloomberg News reported Friday that Chinese officials have told some of the country’s biggest tech names — including Alibaba — to start preparing orders for Nvidia’s H200 AI chips. Regulators reportedly granted “in-principle” approval for Alibaba, Tencent, and ByteDance to proceed with purchase preparations. Beijing may also require buyers to take a certain volume of domestic chips, though no specific quota has been set. Bloomberg.com
Policy remains unclear. Reuters reported Saturday that Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang is in Shanghai on a routine visit while Beijing weighs whether to allow sales of the H200 chip to Chinese buyers — a move Washington has already greenlit, according to Reuters. Chinese officials have told customs the H200 isn’t allowed into China, but it’s uncertain if that’s a formal ban or just a temporary hold.
On Bloomberg TV, HSBC’s Frank Lee highlighted that policy uncertainty is making analysts wary about how much to embed in their forecasts. “It’s too difficult to take a strong stance on the China situation,” he said, noting his team hasn’t built any China-related upside into their revenue projections. Bloomberg.com
H200 is Nvidia’s high-performance AI chip deployed in data centres to train and operate large models. Alibaba, with its sizable cloud business and growing AI service ambitions, stands to benefit from more straightforward access to these chips. This could ease one of the major short-term bottlenecks investors frequently mention, even if the impact isn’t immediately visible in quarterly earnings.
Friday’s slide, despite the headline, showed just how quickly this story can flip into a trade. The stock bounced around with the broader risk sentiment for most of the session, ultimately closing near the lower half after failing to sustain earlier gains.
Yet, it can easily backfire. “In-principle” approval isn’t the same as a green light to ship, and strings attached to buying domestic chips might curb or delay orders. If either side of the Pacific ramps up restrictions, sentiment would take a hit fast, not gradually.
Traders eyeing Monday’s open will be focused on any follow-up reports, official statements from Nvidia or Chinese regulators, and updates on whether Alibaba will face fresh restrictions or receive clearer approvals for advanced chip imports. A key date to watch is Alibaba’s earnings schedule: Wall Street Horizon flags Feb. 19 as a tentative forecast for their next report, derived from past trends rather than an official announcement.
