Alibaba's Qwen App Sees 120M Orders Amid Lunar New Year
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd's stock is down 3.07% in pre-market trading, hitting a 20-day low.
The decline comes despite the recent success of Alibaba's Qwen app, which generated over 120 million orders from February 6 to 11, showcasing strong consumer demand during the Lunar New Year. This surge in orders is attributed to the integration of various services within the app, enhancing user experience and driving sales. However, the overall market sentiment remains weak, with the Nasdaq-100 down 0.39% and the S&P 500 down 0.29%, indicating a sector rotation impacting Alibaba's stock performance.
The impressive order numbers reflect Alibaba's strategic initiatives to boost user engagement and sales, particularly during a peak shopping season. However, the stock's decline highlights the challenges posed by broader market conditions and intensified competition in the tech sector.
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- Chipotle Investment: Daniel Loeb's Third Point acquired a position worth over $174 million in Chipotle during Q4 2025, despite the stock's decline of over 5% in the last quarter, with analysts maintaining buy ratings and an estimated 18% upside potential.
- Spotify Position: Loeb invested $58 million in Spotify in the same quarter, which saw a drop of more than 16%, yet finished the year nearly 30% higher, indicating market confidence in its growth, with analysts suggesting a potential increase of over 42%.
- Union Pacific Stake Increase: Loeb also more than doubled his position in Union Pacific, raising its value to over $418 million, making it the fund's fifth-largest holding, reflecting a positive outlook on the railroad sector despite challenging market conditions.
- New and Reduced Positions: In addition to increasing stakes, Loeb established new positions in Constellation Energy and Alibaba while selling off shares in Flutter, Meta, and Talen Energy, demonstrating a strategic adjustment of his portfolio amid market volatility.
- Stock Rebound: Amazon (AMZN) closed at $201.15 on Tuesday, up 1.19%, marking the end of a nine-day losing streak driven by concerns over its $200 billion AI investment plan, restoring market confidence in its growth prospects.
- Surge in Trading Volume: The trading volume reached 67.9 million shares, approximately 43% above the three-month average, indicating heightened investor interest and confidence in Amazon's future developments.
- Significant AWS Contribution: Amazon Web Services (AWS) saw a 24% revenue increase in Q4, contributing $128 billion to Amazon's total $717 billion revenue last year, underscoring its strong position in the cloud services market.
- Investment Outlook Analysis: Despite the massive capital expenditure plan, investors are weighing Amazon's growth potential against AWS's profitability, reflecting trust in the company's long-term strategic direction.
- Semiconductor Investment Boost: David Tepper's Appaloosa Management aggressively added 1 million shares of Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) during the quarter, bringing its total holdings to 1.5 million shares valued at over $428 million, indicating strong confidence in the semiconductor sector's recovery.
- Tech Giants Trimmed: Despite the reductions, Alibaba remains Appaloosa's largest single holding at 10.88% of the total portfolio, down from 15.61% in the previous quarter, reflecting a cautious stance on Chinese tech stocks.
- Amazon and Nvidia Reductions: Appaloosa trimmed its stake in Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) by approximately 320,000 shares, a 12.8% decrease, while also reducing Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) by 10.5%, liquidating 200,000 shares, indicating Tepper's strategic adjustments in response to market dynamics.
- Shifting Investment Strategy: Tepper appears to be moving “down the stack,” focusing on hardware components that drive AI rather than chip designers, showcasing a reassessment of hardware value and optimism about future growth potential.
- Stock Price Decline: Following a Financial Times report alleging Alibaba's assistance to the Chinese military, the company's shares fell by $6.04, or 3.78%, to close at $153.80 on November 14, 2025, indicating market concerns over compliance issues.
- Military Connection Allegations: A White House memo claims Alibaba provides capabilities to the People's Liberation Army that threaten U.S. security, including access to customer data such as IP addresses and payment records, which could further erode investor confidence.
- Pentagon List Fluctuation: On February 13, 2026, the Pentagon added Alibaba to a list of companies aiding the Chinese military but retracted it minutes later without explanation, creating uncertainty that may exacerbate negative sentiment towards Alibaba in the market.
- Investor Rights Affected: Due to these events, Alibaba's stock price fell nearly 4% during intraday trading on February 13, 2026, further harming investors and prompting law firms to investigate potential claims for recovery of losses.

Author Background: Jonathan E. Hillman is a senior fellow for geoeconomics at the Council on Foreign Relations and has authored "The Digital Silk Road: China’s Quest to Wire the World and Win the Future."
Focus on Geoeconomics: Hillman's work emphasizes the intersection of economics and international relations, particularly in the context of China's global influence through digital infrastructure.
- Video Podcast Integration: Apple announced it will soon integrate video into its podcast app, responding to the growing demand as 37% of people over 12 watch video podcasts monthly, aiming to enhance user experience and align with competitors like Spotify.
- Product Launch Teaser: This video feature serves as a teaser ahead of a larger product launch on March 4, which is rumored to include new MacBook and iPad models, demonstrating Apple's ongoing commitment to innovation despite competitive pressures in the tech market.
- Market Reaction Analysis: While Apple's brand loyalty remains strong, analysts express concerns about its plans to update Siri, suggesting it may not compete effectively with AI chatbots from OpenAI and Google, potentially impacting investor confidence in Apple's future growth.
- Overall Market Dynamics: Amid AI-induced market panic, the S&P 500 fell 1.85% last week, with the Nasdaq dropping 2.98%, indicating pressure on tech stocks, as investors closely watch the upcoming AI impact summit for insights into future developments.









