Since Amazon’s quarter reports came back showing a great success of the business in the recent months, one might wonder what about their competition? Alibaba has been out of the radar following China’s targeting them over a bribery scandal.

One dominates the American market, while the other, the Chinese one. 

Although similar, their business models are very different. 

Amazon’s core business is selling products directly and also serving as an intermediary for other sellers. Alibaba, on the other hand, acts mainly as an online middleman between buyers and sellers through its extensive network of websites.

Is Alibaba the Amazon of China?

Although Alibaba is sometimes referred to as the Amazon of China, the difference in the size of these two companies is substantial. 

Just to get a realistic picture, it is expected that Amazon will generate more than three times as much revenue as Alibaba during 2022. 

Although Alibaba is smaller than Amazon, it is growing at a somewhat faster rate. Alibaba's revenue rose 41% in fiscal 2021 compared to the previous year, while Amazon revenue rose 21.7%. 

Analysts expect Alibaba's revenue to rise 22% this year, 19% next year, and 18% in fiscal 2024. They expect Amazon's revenue to grow 22% this year, 18% next year, and 17% in fiscal 2023.

Recently, after Amazon's quarterly report was made public, the stock price jumped 12% to $3,097 which is still lower than the year to date but certainly a positive sign for the company. Alibaba stock, on the other hand, recently took more than a 2% hit due to signs of continuous uneven sales performance in the second half of 2021.