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Investing.com -- ADRs of Alibaba (NYSE:BABA) and JD.com (NASDAQ:JD) climbed sharply on Wednesday, as upbeat preliminary results from China’s annual 618 shopping festival reassured investors about consumer demand. Alibaba rose 3.4% while JD.com gained 2.6%, following a report by the South China Morning Post indicating surging sales momentum fueled by Beijing’s subsidy-backed consumption push.
According to the SCMP, Alibaba’s Taobao and Tmall Group (TTG) saw sales of subsidy-eligible consumer electronics and home appliances jump 283% from May 13 to May 26, during the initial checkout period, compared with the same period in last year’s Singles’ Day festival. JD.com reported a 380% year-on-year increase in sales of electronics and appliances in just the first hour of its campaign, which launched on May 30.
The 618 Shopping Festival, commonly known as "618," is one of China’s largest annual e-commerce promotional events, second only to Singles’ Day (11.11) in scale. It was originally launched by JD.com in 2010 to celebrate the company’s June 18 founding anniversary, but has since grown into a nationwide shopping bonanza embraced by all major e-commerce platforms.
Both e-commerce giants are key participants in China’s expanded trade-in programme for 2025, which offers rebates of up to 2,000 yuan ($278) per qualifying item. Encouraged by policy incentives, Chinese consumers ramped up spending on smartphones, televisions, refrigerators, and other big-ticket items during the early weeks of the sales event.
“This year’s 618 shopping festival is off to a strong start,” Alibaba’s TTG unit said in a statement, as quoted by SCMP. It noted that categories supported by government subsidies, particularly electronics and home appliances, continue to post robust results, highlighting the program’s impact on consumer behavior.
Sales data also pointed to strong brand-level performance across Alibaba and JD.com platforms. SCMP reported that as of May 30, more than 217 brands including Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), Xiaomi (OTC:XIACF), Huawei, Midea, and Haier each surpassed 100 million yuan ($13.9 million) in sales, a threshold that JD.com said several brands reached within the festival’s opening hour.
Despite this momentum, Alibaba faces regulatory hurdles elsewhere. A report by the Financial Times revealed that its joint artificial intelligence initiative with Apple, which includes the rollout of Apple Intelligence services supported by Alibaba’s models, has stalled at China’s Cyberspace Administration (CAC).
According to FT, both companies have submitted several AI products for regulatory clearance this year, but approvals are delayed amid growing U.S.-China geopolitical friction. The pause underscores the broader challenges facing American and Chinese companies as Beijing tightens scrutiny on cross-border tech collaboration against the backdrop of escalating trade tensions.
The stocks have remained resilient despite the news, as strong sales, bolstered by government subsidy support, have eased investor fears over an on-and-off trade war with the U.S.