Daily Buzz: 26 November 2025

Alibaba Profit Slumps on 'One-Hour Delivery' Costs, AI Investment

Chinese e-commerce and technology giant Alibaba reported third-quarter profit fell 52 percent from a year earlier to 21 billion yuan (US$2.9 billion) despite a better-than-forecast 5 percent increase in revenue to 247.8 billion yuan. Profit was dragged lower by cash-burning marketing expenses of the company's "one-hour delivery" war with JD.com and Meituan, and by large investments in cloud computing.

Alibaba, founded in 1999 by entrepreneur Jack Ma as an inter-business online marketplace, has expanded over the years to become a conglomerate, with businesses in food delivery, supermarkets, digital payments, online entertainment, logistics, global e-commerce, cloud computing and artificial intelligence. E-commerce revenue grew 16 percent, with its overseas business unit showing profit for the first time, and profit at its Ant financial technology arm, which is reported in arrears, rose 10 percent in the second quarter.

Hangzhou-based Alibaba began investing in artificial intelligence in 2016 and said earlier this year that it would invest at least 380 billion yuan over the three years in cloud computing and AI infrastructure. In the latest quarter, revenue from its cloud business surged 34 percent. Alibaba has emerged as one of China's leading AI players. On Monday, the company said its Qwen app, a rival to OpenAI's ChatGPT, surpassed 10 million downloads within the first week of its public launch. Alibaba shares in New York fell 2 percent.

Progress Reported in Talks to End War in Ukraine

Ukraine said it has reached a "common understanding" with the US during talks in Genera on a peace deal aimed at ending the nearly four-year war with Russia. US President Donald Trump said his original 28-point peace plan, which was heavily weighted in Moscow's favor, "has been fine-tuned, with additional input from both sides." He said the revised plan will be presented to Russia, where its reception is unclear. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned that while Moscow accepted the original plan, its support may be different under substantial changes. It's known that some key elements of the original plan have been dropped, including a requirement that Kiev renounce any possible membership in NATO and reduce the size of its military. The status of territory claimed by both Ukraine and Russia, and Western security guarantees for Ukraine remain sticking points. European leaders backing Ukraine remained skeptical. French President Emmanuel Macron said he sees "no Russian will for a ceasefire," while the UK said there is "a long way to go – a tough road ahead."

China Launches Rescue Spacecraft

China's space agency successfully launched the unmanned Shenzhou 22 spacecraft to the Tiangong space station to serve as the return vehicle for three astronauts who began a six-month stay there in October. The Shenzhou 21 craft meant take them back to Earth had to be commandeered to return three astronauts they replaced after their Shenzhou 20 craft was damaged by space debris.

Top Business

Nio Narrows Loss in Third Quarter

Shanghai-based electric carmaker Nio narrowed its third-quarter loss to 3.5 billion yuan (US$489 million) from 5.1 billion yuan a year earlier as revenue rose 15 percent to 21.8 billion yuan on increased car deliveries. Sales of smart cars surged 15 percent to 19 billion yuan on a 41 percent increase in deliveries to 87,071 units. The company said it expects fourth-quarter profit to rise up to 73 percent. The firm was founded by entrepreneur William Li in 2014, unveiling its first vehicle, the Nio EP9 electric sports car. Nio has since expanded into smartphones. In the third quarter, the company said it sold 36,928 cars under the Nio brand, 12,478 under the Firefly marque and 37,656 under Onvo. The company, which operates two production plans in Anhui Province in collaboration with vehicle manufacturer JAC group, also operates more than 1,300 battery-swapping stations in China. Nio shares in New York fell 4 percent.

Pony.ai Loss Widens Despite Stronger Revenue

Robotaxi company Pony.ai reported its third-quarter loss widened to 438 million yuan (US$61 million) from 421 million yuan a year earlier on higher operating costs, despite a 72 percent surge in revenue to 181.1 million yuan. Robotaxi revenue jumped 90 percent as fare-charging trips more than tripled, while robotruck revenue rose 8.7. Licensing and applications revenue surged more than threefold. The company, with headquarters in China and the US, operates fully driverless robotaxis in major Chinese cities including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, and is expanding rapidly overseas, with services pending in Singapore and the United Arab Emirates. It said it plans to increase its self-driving fleet to more than 3,000 vehicles in 2026. Pony.ai shares rose 5.9 percent in New York trading.

China To Tighten Power Bank Rules

China is preparing to roll out its toughest safety standards to date for popular portable power banks that could curtail up to 70 percent of current production capacity. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology is poised to announce the final version of the new rules next month, with implementation to begin in June. The standards involve stricter requirements on circuitry and battery cells aimed at addressing fire risks after more than 700 safety incidents in the past six months, some occurring on airline flights. The new rules will increase cost of production for manufacturers, which may force smaller players from the market.

Economy & Markets

UBTech Announces Hong Kong Share Placement

UBTech Robotics, a leading Chinese maker of humanoid robots, plans to raise HK$3.1 billion (US$400 million) in a share placement in Hong Kong – its sixth and largest such fundraising since last year, the South China Morning Post reported. The Shenzhen-based company aims to sell 31.5 million new shares at HK$98.80 each, according to a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange on Tuesday. The company said the proceeds will be used to integrate supply change and finance its push into industrial manufacturing. UBTech earlier announced the goal of doubling robot output 10-fold next year.

US Retail Sales Grow Slower Than Expected

US retail sales increased a smaller-than-expected 0.2 percent in September from August, the Commerce Department said in report delayed by the 43-day government shutdown. The data were reinforced by a survey from the Conference Board showing consumer confidence sagged to a seven-month low in November, with fewer households planning to buy big-ticket items over the next six months. Economists cited the Trump administration's global duties on imports, which have raised consumer prices. Consumer spending habits comes into focus this time of year as the Christmas shopping season begins. With consumer spending weak, unemployment rising and inflation tame, bets on the Federal Reserve cutting rates at its December meeting have increased.

Blackrock Bitcoin ETF Hemorrhaging

Blackrock's iShares Bitcoin Trust exchange-traded fund has seen an outflow of US$2.2 billion of funds this month, heading for its worst monthly decline in three years, CNBC reported. That follows a US$291 million outflow in October. Cryptocurrencies have been dropping in tandem with losses in technology shares as investors move to less risky assets. In late New York trading, Bitcoin was 2 percent lower, hovering just above US$87,000.

Separately, bitcoin mining is on the rebound in China despite a four-year government ban on it, as individuals and corporate miners tap cheap electricity and a data-center boom in some energy-rich provinces, the South China Morning Post reported. Bitcoin mining in China ceased in 2021, but has since crept back up to third place in the world, according to Hashrate Index, which tracks bitcoin mining activities.

Xiaomi Boss Lifts Stake to 23.3 Percent

Lei Jun, founder and chief executive of phone and carmaker Xiaomi, increased his stake in the company to 23.3 percent with the purchase of HK$100 million (US$13 million) worth of shares, according to an exchange filing. The company has been buying back shares to shore up a sagging stock price, which has dropped 30 percent since late September.

Corporate

China Tourism Group Leads Cruise Ship Consolidation

China Tourism Group is consolidating with three other state-owned cruise operators to create Asia's largest cruise fleet. China Tourism unit Huaxia International Cruises will lead the new group, which has five luxury cruise ships, including the Adora Magic City and Nanhai Dream. The final piece of the consolidation came when China Tourism and Cosco Shipping Group set up a subsidiary under Huaxia called Star Cruises. The other two participants in the consolidation are related to China Merchants Group and China State Shipbuilding Corp. China is the world's second-largest source of cruise passengers after the US, and the industry has been expanding by at least 40 percent a year.

Robots, Like Humans, Can Have Accidents

Chinese property and casualty insurers Ping An, CPIC and PICC have launched insurance products to cover accident and liability risks of android robots. The embodied intelligence industry lacks unified standards on safety, which can lead to disputes when accidents occur. Yicai Global said, citing robotic surgeries, robots bumping into people and other operations that may pose risks, causing injury to man or machine.

Vionbotics Launches Facade-Cleaning Robot

Shanghai-based Vionbotics unveiled a robot designed to clean facades. The AI-power robot can undertake complex cleaning tasks at sites such as airports, shopping malls and office buildings. The company said the robot is a world first.

Self-Driving Startup Suspends Operations

Haomo.AI, a Chinese self-driving startup backed by automaker Great Wall Motor, has reportedly suspended operations until further notice, Yicai said, citing a report in Red Star Media. No reason for the suspension was given. The report said 300 employees in Shanghai and three other cities were put on leave, effective November 22.