Alibaba tops Wall Street 2Q forecasts

Hong Kong: Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. (BABA) on Wednesday reported fiscal second-quarter earnings of $1.14 billion.

The Hong Kong-based company said it had net income of 45 cents per share. Earnings, adjusted for non-recurring costs and stock option expense, came to 79 cents per share.

The results beat Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of eight analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 70 cents per share.

The online retailer posted revenue of $5.14 billion in the period, also exceeding Street forecasts. Seven analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $5.11 billion.

Alibaba shares have increased 24 percent since the beginning of the year. The stock has increased 20 percent in the last 12 months.