APP
AppLovin Corporation
APP has the edge over BABA overall, supported by stronger fundamentals and stronger valuation.
BABA
Alibaba Group Holding Limited
BABA has lower modeled downside risk, despite its lower overall score.
APP Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Strong |
APP's revenue, profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are all currently strong.
BABA Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Under pressure | |
| Weak | |
| Healthy |
BABA's balance sheet is currently healthy, and its revenue is stable, but its profitability and cash flow are under pressure.
APP PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 20x | $394 | — |
| Current | 26x | $394 | — |
| Cheap | 42x | $618 | +57% |
| Fair | 66x | $978 | +148% |
| Expensive | 137x | $2,040 | +418% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
APP has the edge over BABA in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
BABA PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 16x | $69.66 | -26% |
| Fair | 20x | $86.59 | -8.2% |
| Current | 21x | $94.36 | — |
| Expensive | 26x | $115 | +22% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
BABA's PE is 21x, but its earnings don't support one, so it isn't a reliable read right now.
APP Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strong growth | |
| Improving | |
| Moderate | |
| Moderate |
Analysts expect strong earnings and revenue growth for APP, with profitability improving.
BABA Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| -- | |
| Strong growth | |
| Growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Limited | |
| Low |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for BABA, with profitability improving. However, they disagree widely on these estimates.
APP Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $19.62 | +32% |
| Q3 2026 | $14.86 | +81% |
| Q2 2026 | $13.01 | +85% |
| Q1 2026 | $11.64 | +110% |
| Q4 2025 | $9.75 | +115% |
| Q3 2025 | $8.23 | +151% |
| Q2 2025 | $7.03 | +202% |
| Q1 2025 | $5.53 | +233% |
| Q4 2024 | $4.53 | +362% |
APP has the edge over BABA on earnings, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
BABA Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | $4.42 | -52% |
| Q1 2026 | $6.57 | -18% |
| Q4 2025 | $5.79 | -22% |
| Q3 2025 | $7.85 | +49% |
| Q2 2025 | $9.27 | +116% |
| Q1 2025 | $8.06 | +71% |
| Q4 2024 | $7.47 | +24% |
| Q3 2024 | $5.26 | -35% |
BABA's earnings per share have fallen from their peak: $4.42 over the past year, against $9.27 in mid-2025. Its recent earnings include one-off gains.
APP Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $2.2B | +55% |
| Q2 2026 | $1.9B | +53% |
| Q1 2026 | $1.8B | +24% |
| Q4 2025 | $1.7B | +21% |
| Q3 2025 | $1.4B | +17% |
| Q2 2025 | $1.3B | +17% |
| Q1 2025 | $1.5B | +40% |
| Q4 2024 | $1.4B | +44% |
APP has the edge over BABA on sales, with stronger typical year-over-year growth.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 78% | +1.4 points |
| Q2 2026 | 78% | +1.6 points |
| Q1 2026 | 78% | +33 points |
| Q4 2025 | 77% | +33 points |
| Q3 2025 | 77% | +32 points |
| Q2 2025 | 76% | +40 points |
| Q1 2025 | 45% | +13 points |
| Q4 2024 | 44% | +16 points |
APP has the edge over BABA on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
BABA Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | $40.2B | +8.3% |
| Q1 2026 | $36.5B | +2.9% |
| Q4 2025 | $42.7B | +1.7% |
| Q3 2025 | $37.2B | +4.8% |
| Q2 2025 | $37.2B | +1.8% |
| Q1 2025 | $35.5B | +6.6% |
| Q4 2024 | $42B | +7.6% |
| Q3 2024 | $35.5B | +5.2% |
BABA's revenue has grown year over year for 16 quarters in a row: $40.2B last quarter, up 8.3% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | 7.2% | -6.9 points |
| Q1 2026 | -0.3% | -12 points |
| Q4 2025 | 7.1% | -7.6 points |
| Q3 2025 | 2.2% | -13 points |
| Q2 2025 | 14% | -0.7 points |
| Q1 2025 | 12% | +5.4 points |
| Q4 2024 | 15% | +6.1 points |
| Q3 2024 | 15% | 0 points |
BABA's operating margin was 7.2% last quarter, down 6.9 points from the same quarter a year ago.
APP Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $1.4B | +36% |
| Q2 2026 | $869M | +13% |
| Q1 2026 | $1.3B | +55% |
| Q3 2025 | $1.1B | +91% |
| Q2 2025 | $772.2M | +70% |
| Q1 2025 | $831.7M | +112% |
| Q3 2024 | $550.7M | +177% |
| Q2 2024 | $454.5M | +101% |
APP has the edge over BABA on cash generation, producing positive trailing cash flow while its opponent burns cash.
BABA Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | -$6.7B | -$4.1B |
| Q1 2026 | -$2.7B | +$1.5B |
| Q4 2025 | $1B | -90% |
| Q3 2025 | -$3.2B | -254% |
| Q2 2025 | -$2.7B | -182% |
| Q1 2025 | -$4.2B | -12231% |
| Q4 2024 | $10.4B | -4.8% |
| Q3 2024 | $2.1B | -62% |
BABA's free cash flow has turned negative after years in the green: −$11.6B over the past year.
APP Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.7% | -2.3M shares |
| 1 year | -1.8% | -6.2M shares |
| 3 years | -6.2% | -22.1M shares |
| 5 years | -13% | -49.6M shares |
| Available history | +67% | +134M shares |
APP has the edge over BABA on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $1.3B |
| Q2 2026 | $551.2M |
| Q1 2026 | $981.7M |
| Q4 2025 | $417.6M |
| Q3 2025 | $501.9M |
| Q2 2025 | $271.5M |
| Q1 2025 | $1B |
| Q4 2024 | $625,000 |
APP spent $3.2B buying back its own shares over the past year, up 82% from the year before.
BABA Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +0.5% | +11.1M shares |
| 1 year | +0.9% | +21.4M shares |
| 3 years | -6.2% | -161M shares |
| 5 years | -12% | -339M shares |
| Available history | -8.4% | -221M shares |
BABA has 2.4B diluted shares, up 0.9% from a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | — |
| Q1 2026 | — |
| Q4 2025 | — |
| Q3 2025 | $269.8M |
| Q2 2025 | — |
| Q1 2025 | — |
| Q4 2024 | — |
| Q3 2024 | — |
BABA spent $270M buying back its own shares over the past year, after none the year before.
APP Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 0.1x | Very low |
| Q2 2026 | 0.1x | Very low |
| Q1 2026 | 0.2x | Very low |
| Q4 2025 | 0.3x | Very low |
| Q3 2025 | 0.5x | Very low |
| Q2 2025 | 0.7x | Very low |
| Q1 2025 | 1.2x | Healthy |
| Q4 2024 | 1.2x | Healthy |
APP has the edge over BABA on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
BABA Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | 0.5x | Very low |
| Q1 2026 | 0.5x | Very low |
| Q4 2025 | 0.6x | Very low |
| Q3 2025 | 0.8x | Very low |
| Q2 2025 | 0.2x | Very low |
| Q1 2025 | 0.3x | Very low |
| Q4 2024 | 0.1x | Very low |
| Q3 2024 | -0.2x | Net Cash |
BABA's net debt is less than a year of its operating earnings (EBITDA).
APP Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 53.4 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 56.4 | Neutral |
APP's weekly RSI is 53 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 56 (neutral).
BABA Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 38.0 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 12.7 | Oversold |
BABA's weekly RSI is 38 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 13 (oversold).
APP PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | APP | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 26x | 28x | 4.9% below |
| PE % | 7 | 42 | 35 pts below |
APP has the edge over BABA on valuation relative to its sector.
BABA PE vs Consumer Cyclical Sector
| Metric | BABA | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 21x | 18x | 19% above |
| PE % | 60 | 47 | 13 pts above |
BABA is trading at 21x earnings, a 19% premium to the Consumer Cyclical sector's median of 18x, though its earnings don't support one.
APP Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $299.5 | 31% above |
| 20 week MA | $344.0 | 14% above |
| 50 week MA | $443.5 | 11% below |
| 100 week MA | $429.4 | 8.3% below |
| 200 week MA | $250.0 | 57% above |
APP has the edge over BABA on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
BABA Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $104.7 | 9.9% below |
| 20 week MA | $111.1 | 15% below |
| 50 week MA | $128.0 | 26% below |
| 100 week MA | $127.7 | 26% below |
| 200 week MA | $106.4 | 11% below |
BABA is in a downtrend: it's below all five of its weekly moving averages, and 11% below its 200-week average.
APP Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | $61.0 | $93.8 | +54% |
| 2022 | $93.8 | $9.84 | -90% |
| 2023 | $9.84 | $39.9 | +305% |
| 2024 | $39.9 | $335.2 | +741% |
| 2025 | $335.2 | $714.2 | +113% |
| 2026 YTD | $714.2 | $393.7 | -45% |
APP's yearly returns have swung widely, from +741% in 2024 to −90% in 2022. It's down 45% so far in 2026.
BABA Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $215.5 | $222.0 | +3% |
| 2021 | $222.0 | $118.7 | -47% |
| 2022 | $118.7 | $85.7 | -28% |
| 2023 | $85.7 | $77.5 | -9.5% |
| 2024 | $77.5 | $85.1 | +9.7% |
| 2025 | $85.1 | $152.2 | +79% |
| 2026 YTD | $152.2 | $94.4 | -38% |
BABA has the edge over APP on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.