What happened
Shares of Alibaba Group (BABA 2.92%) gained 10.9% in May, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence. The Chinese e-commerce giant kicked off the month with a strong fourth-quarter report and never looked back.
So what
Alibaba's fourth-quarter revenues rose 76% year over year to land at $9.87 billion. That's a dollar-based result, helped by a 10% stronger dollar-to-yuan exchange rate. In local currency, Alibaba's sales increased by 60%.
On the bottom line, adjusted earnings of $0.91 per share represented a 44% jump compared to the year-ago period. Measured in Chinese currency, it was a 32% increase.
Your average Wall Street analyst would have settled for earnings of $0.84 per share on sales near $9.3 billion. It's no surprise to see shares soaring on a clean slate of positive surprises.
Image source: Alibaba.
Now what
Alibaba investors, including yours truly, have seen share prices soar 67% in 52 weeks and 170% in two years. Fellow Motley Fool Natalie Walters argues that the good times should keep rolling in the next few years thanks to international growth plans and a red-hot cloud computing segment. Alibaba backs up these expectations with massive revenue gains and ambitious investments in new growth ideas. I'm a happy shareholder, expecting many more of these large monthly increases (and the occasional drop, also known as a buy-in opportunity) in the years ahead.
