BABA
Alibaba Group Holding Limited
BABA offers stronger valuation, but that advantage does not outweigh its weaker overall profile.
LQDT
Liquidity Services, Inc.
LQDT has the edge over BABA overall, supported by stronger fundamentals and lower modeled downside.
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.
LQDT Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Strong |
LQDT's profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are currently healthy, and its revenue is stable.
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 has the edge over LQDT in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
LQDT PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 12x | $11.99 | -73% |
| Forward | 25x | $45.15 | — |
| Fair | 31x | $31.35 | -31% |
| Expensive | 42x | $42.96 | -4.9% |
| Current | 44x | $45.15 | — |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
LQDT's PE is in its expensive range at 44x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 25x next year's earnings, in its cheap range.
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.
LQDT Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Limited | |
| High |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for LQDT, with profitability improving.
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.
LQDT Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $1.81 | +77% |
| Q2 2026 | $1.02 | +23% |
| Q1 2026 | $0.93 | +18% |
| Q4 2025 | $0.92 | +23% |
| Q3 2025 | $0.87 | +38% |
| Q2 2025 | $0.83 | +34% |
| Q1 2025 | $0.79 | +23% |
| Q4 2024 | $0.75 | +27% |
| Q3 2024 | $0.63 | -3.1% |
LQDT has the edge over BABA on earnings, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
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.
LQDT Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | $129.6M | +8.1% |
| Q1 2026 | $120.7M | +3.7% |
| Q4 2025 | $121.2M | -0.9% |
| Q3 2025 | $118.1M | +10% |
| Q2 2025 | $119.9M | +28% |
| Q1 2025 | $116.4M | +27% |
| Q4 2024 | $122.3M | +72% |
| Q3 2024 | $106.9M | +34% |
LQDT's revenue is growing: $130M last quarter, up 8.1% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | 11% | +2.4 points |
| Q1 2026 | 8% | +2.1 points |
| Q4 2025 | 7.7% | +1.9 points |
| Q3 2025 | 9.3% | +2.5 points |
| Q2 2025 | 8.5% | +0.1 points |
| Q1 2025 | 5.8% | -1.4 points |
| Q4 2024 | 5.8% | +3.5 points |
| Q3 2024 | 6.8% | -3 points |
LQDT has the edge over BABA on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
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.
LQDT Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | $29.4M | +71% |
| Q1 2026 | $27.4M | +39% |
| Q4 2025 | -$2.8M | +$11.2M |
| Q3 2025 | $36M | +88% |
| Q2 2025 | $17.2M | -15% |
| Q1 2025 | $19.8M | -39% |
| Q4 2024 | -$14M | -$3.4M |
| Q3 2024 | $19.2M | +45% |
LQDT has the edge over BABA on cash generation, producing positive trailing cash flow while its opponent burns cash.
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 the edge over LQDT on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| 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.
LQDT Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +1.1% | +367K shares |
| 1 year | +1.1% | +354K shares |
| 3 years | +4.2% | +1.3M shares |
| 5 years | -7.3% | -2.6M shares |
| Available history | -1.3% | -440K shares |
LQDT has 33M diluted shares, up 1.1% from a year ago, despite $18M in buybacks over the past year.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | — |
| Q1 2026 | $40,000 |
| Q4 2025 | $1.5M |
| Q3 2025 | $16.1M |
| Q2 2025 | — |
| Q1 2025 | — |
| Q4 2024 | $79,000 |
| Q3 2024 | — |
LQDT spent $18M buying back its own shares over the past year, more than ten times what it spent the year before.
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).
LQDT Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | -4.0x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2026 | -3.9x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2025 | -3.6x | Net Cash |
| Q3 2025 | -3.8x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2025 | -3.7x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2025 | -3.5x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2024 | -3.2x | Net Cash |
| Q3 2024 | -4.3x | Net Cash |
LQDT has the edge over BABA on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
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).
LQDT Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 68.0 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 74.7 | Neutral |
LQDT's weekly RSI is 68 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 75 (neutral).
BABA PE vs Consumer Cyclical Sector
| Metric | BABA | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 21x | 18x | 19% above |
| PE % | 60 | 47 | 13 pts above |
BABA has the edge over LQDT on valuation relative to its sector.
LQDT PE vs Consumer Cyclical Sector
| Metric | LQDT | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 44x | 18x | 146% above |
| PE % | 88 | 47 | 41 pts above |
LQDT is trading at 44x earnings, a 146% premium to the Consumer Cyclical sector's median of 18x.
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.
LQDT Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $44.0 | 2.6% above |
| 20 week MA | $42.2 | 7.1% above |
| 50 week MA | $36.6 | 23% above |
| 100 week MA | $32.3 | 40% above |
| 200 week MA | $25.3 | 78% above |
LQDT has the edge over BABA on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
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 finished lower in three of the last six years. It's down 38% so far in 2026.
LQDT Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $5.85 | $16.7 | +186% |
| 2021 | $16.7 | $21.5 | +29% |
| 2022 | $21.5 | $14.0 | -35% |
| 2023 | $14.0 | $17.2 | +23% |
| 2024 | $17.2 | $32.1 | +86% |
| 2025 | $32.1 | $31.2 | -2.9% |
| 2026 YTD | $31.2 | $45.2 | +45% |
LQDT has the edge over BABA on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.