BABA
Alibaba Group Holding Limited
BABA has the edge over MTH overall, supported by stronger valuation and stronger modeled upside.
MTH
Meritage Homes Corporation
MTH offers stronger fundamentals, but that advantage does not outweigh its weaker overall profile.
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.
MTH Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Unavailable | |
| Stable | |
| Unavailable | |
| Under pressure |
MTH's profitability is currently stable, but its balance sheet is under pressure. There isn't enough data to rate its revenue and cash flow.
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 MTH in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
MTH PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 4.8x | $21.55 | -67% |
| Fair | 7.7x | $34.14 | -47% |
| Expensive | 11x | $46.91 | -28% |
| Current | 15x | $64.80 | — |
| Forward | 16x | $64.80 | — |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
MTH's PE is in its expensive range at 15x. Analysts expect earnings to fall, which would put today's price at 16x next year's earnings.
BABA Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| -- | |
| Strong growth | |
| Growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Limited | |
| Low |
BABA has the edge over MTH on the outlook, with more favorable earnings and revenue expectations.
MTH Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Deteriorating | |
| Strong decline | |
| Decline | |
| Weakening | |
| Limited | |
| Low |
Analysts expect MTH's earnings and revenue to decline, with profitability weakening. However, they disagree widely on these estimates.
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 has the edge over MTH on earnings, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
MTH Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $3.93 | -12% |
| Q3 2026 | $4.46 | -40% |
| Q2 2026 | $4.81 | -45% |
| Q1 2026 | $5.48 | -45% |
| Q4 2025 | $6.35 | -41% |
| Q3 2025 | $7.49 | -32% |
| Q2 2025 | $8.77 | -23% |
| Q1 2025 | $9.88 | -7.8% |
| Q4 2024 | $10.72 | +7.6% |
MTH's earnings per share have fallen from their peak: $4.46 over the past year, against $13.37 in late 2022.
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.
MTH Quarterly Revenue
MTH and BABA do not have enough comparable growth data to identify a winner.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2022 | 23% | N/A |
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.
MTH Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -$35.3M | +$69M |
| Q2 2026 | $183.9M | +2552% |
| Q1 2026 | $97M | +$145.2M |
| Q4 2025 | $238.1M | +$345.1M |
| Q3 2025 | -$104.3M | -$4.3M |
| Q2 2025 | $6.9M | +$131.8M |
| Q1 2025 | -$48.2M | -164% |
| Q4 2024 | -$107M | +$4.4M |
MTH 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 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.
MTH Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -1.5% | -1M shares |
| 1 year | -8.5% | -6.1M shares |
| 3 years | -12% | -9M shares |
| 5 years | -15% | -11.3M shares |
| Available history | -16% | -12.7M shares |
MTH has the edge over BABA on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $55M |
| Q2 2026 | $100M |
| Q1 2026 | $130M |
| Q4 2025 | $150M |
| Q3 2025 | $55M |
| Q2 2025 | $45M |
| Q1 2025 | $45M |
| Q4 2024 | $40M |
MTH spent $435M buying back its own shares over the past year, up 135% from 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 has the edge over MTH on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
MTH Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 2.8x | Moderate |
| Q2 2026 | 2.2x | Moderate |
| Q1 2026 | 2.0x | Healthy |
| Q4 2025 | 1.7x | Healthy |
| Q3 2025 | 1.5x | Healthy |
| Q2 2025 | 1.0x | Healthy |
| Q1 2025 | 0.8x | Very low |
| Q4 2024 | 0.6x | Very low |
MTH's net debt is about 2.8 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), up from 1.5 years a year ago.
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).
MTH Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 46.5 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 46.3 | Neutral |
MTH's weekly RSI is 46 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 46 (neutral).
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.
MTH PE vs Consumer Cyclical Sector
| Metric | MTH | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 15x | 18x | 19% below |
| PE % | 98 | 47 | 51 pts above |
MTH has the edge over BABA on valuation relative to its sector.
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.
MTH Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $63.5 | 2% above |
| 20 week MA | $68.4 | 5.3% below |
| 50 week MA | $69.1 | 6.2% below |
| 100 week MA | $70.4 | 7.9% below |
| 200 week MA | $73.4 | 12% below |
MTH 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.
MTH Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $30.7 | $44.2 | +44% |
| 2021 | $44.2 | $58.5 | +32% |
| 2022 | $58.5 | $46.1 | -21% |
| 2023 | $46.1 | $87.1 | +89% |
| 2024 | $87.1 | $77.1 | -12% |
| 2025 | $77.1 | $66.8 | -13% |
| 2026 YTD | $66.8 | $64.8 | -3% |
MTH has the edge over BABA on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.