Alibaba Group Holding Limited BABA

Competitive advantage analysis · consumer-cyclical

Corporate Default
Overall moat score
60/100
Moderate

Ranked against 42 peers in Internet Retail

About Alibaba Group Holding Limited

Alibaba Group Holding Limited, through its subsidiaries, provides technology infrastructure and marketing reach to help merchants, brands, retailers, and other businesses to engage with their users and customers in the People's Republic of China and internationally. It operates digital retail platforms under the Taobao and Tmall names; wholesale marketplaces through 1688.com and Alibaba.com; global e-commerce platform under the AliExpress name; … Full BABA analysis →

Key strengths

  • Margins Stable Across Cycles Operating margin volatility is low (stability score 0.74), demonstrating pricing resilience across cycles.
  • Revenue Growth Consistent Revenue growth volatility is low (stability score 0.92), suggesting sticky customer base.

The dashed ring is the peer median. Defense scores are percentile ranks against peers, so 50 is roughly the typical company in this group.

Upgrade to unlock the signals and evidence behind each defense.

Premium access

Unlock full defense analysis

Get key signals, strengths, and risks for every moat dimension.

Upgrade to Premium Unlock all moat defenses and evidence.

Pricing Power

Moderate
65
Premium

Signals, strengths and risks for Pricing Power

Premium

Signals, strengths and risks for Cost Advantage

Premium

Signals, strengths and risks for Customer Stickiness

Premium

Signals, strengths and risks for Capital Efficiency

Premium

Signals, strengths and risks for Resilience

Premium

Signals, strengths and risks for Scale & Market Position

Where BABA ranks in Internet Retail

Alibaba Group Holding Limited ranks #13 of 43 scored companies in Internet Retail by moat score — the top 30%. The widest moat in the group is PDD Holdings Inc. (PDD) at 77/100.

# Company Moat score Rating
9 Sea Limited SE 68/100 Moderate
10 Revolve Group, Inc. RVLV 66/100 Moderate
11 Etsy, Inc. ETSY 63/100 Moderate
12 Chewy, Inc. CHWY 62/100 Moderate
13 Alibaba Group Holding Limited BABA 60/100 Moderate
14 Hour Loop, Inc. HOUR 55/100 Moderate
15 ATRenew Inc. RERE 55/100 Moderate
16 JD.com, Inc. JD 52/100 Moderate
17 Baozun Inc. BZUN 52/100 Moderate

See every General Corporate company ranked by moat score →

How BABA scores on the Corporate Default defenses

Pricing Power

Score 65 · 20% of the moat score

Pricing power is the ability to raise prices without losing volume.

Cost Advantage

Score 69 · 15% of the moat score

A cost advantage means delivering the same product for structurally less — better purchasing, denser distribution, a more automated process.

Customer Stickiness

Score 69 · 15% of the moat score

Stickiness is what makes revenue repeat without being re-won every year.

Capital Efficiency

Score 58 · 18% of the moat score

Capital efficiency asks what the company earns on the money tied up in the business.

Resilience

Score 48 · 17% of the moat score

Resilience is the capacity to get through a bad year on its own terms — enough liquidity, enough interest cover, and enough cash generation to avoid a rescue financing or a forced sale.

Scale & Market Position

Score 53 · 15% of the moat score

Scale matters only when it converts into economics.

How each Corporate Default defense is measured, in full →

Understanding BABA's moat

What is Alibaba Group Holding Limited's moat score?

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (BABA) scores 60 out of 100 on the StatsAlpha Moat Map, which rates its competitive advantage as moderate. It ranks #13 of 43 scored companies in Internet Retail, the top 30%. The score is a weighted composite of 6 competitive defenses, each measured against industry peers of 42 companies in Internet Retail. Its strongest defense is Customer Stickiness (69/100) and its weakest is Resilience (48/100).

How does Alibaba Group Holding Limited compare with other Internet Retail companies?

Alibaba Group Holding Limited ranks #13 of 43 scored companies in Internet Retail by moat score. The widest moat in Internet Retail is PDD Holdings Inc. (PDD) at 77/100. The companies ranked closest are Chewy, Inc. (CHWY) at 62 just above it and Hour Loop, Inc. (HOUR) at 55 just below it.

How is the moat score calculated?

Each company is scored with an industry-specific template — Corporate Default in this case, chosen because the defenses that matter to a bank are not the ones that matter to a software company. Every defense combines several financial signals, and each signal is measured as a percentile against a peer group of 42 companies in Internet Retail. The defenses are then weighted to produce the overall score out of 100.

Why is Alibaba Group Holding Limited scored with the Corporate Default template?

Most public companies sell a product or a service at a margin, so the moat question is whether that margin survives contact with competitors. The Corporate template scores the six defenses that show up in a general operating company's financial signature: whether it can hold price, produce more cheaply than rivals, keep its customers, earn a return above its cost of capital, withstand a downturn, and turn size into economics.

Which competitive defenses are measured for Alibaba Group Holding Limited?

The Corporate Default template measures 6 defenses, and BABA scores: Pricing Power (65), Cost Advantage (69), Customer Stickiness (69), Capital Efficiency (58), Resilience (48), Scale & Market Position (53). Each is scored independently as a percentile against peers, so a company can be strong on one and weak on another — the overall score reflects how those defenses are weighted for this industry.

Send Feedback
Please select a category.
0/1000