How They Make Money

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๐Ÿ“Š PRO: This Week in Visuals
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๐Ÿ“Š PRO: This Week in Visuals

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App Economy Insights
Feb 22, 2025
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๐Ÿ“Š PRO: This Week in Visuals
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Welcome to the Saturday PRO edition of How They Make Money.

Over 190,000 subscribers turn to us for business and investment insights.

In case you missed it:

  • ๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ท Luxury Leaders Visualized

  • ๐Ÿ’ฐ Hedge Funds' Top Picks in Q4


  • ๐Ÿ“ง Free members get our Friday articles and sneak peeks.

  • ๐Ÿ’Œ Premium members receive monthly reports with 200+ companies visualized, one extra weekly article, and access to our archive.

  • ๐Ÿ’ผย PRO membersย enjoy everything in Premium, plus our timely coverage of the past week's most important earnings on Saturday.


Today at a glance:

  1. ๐Ÿ›’ Walmart: Digital Strength

  2. ๐Ÿ“ฆ Alibaba: AI Powers Growth

  3. ๐Ÿ๏ธ Booking: Travel Demand Still Strong

  4. ๐ŸŒ Arista Networks: AI-Driven Growth

  5. ๐Ÿค MercadoLibre: Expanding Ecosystem

  6. โš™๏ธ Analog Devices: Gradual Recovery

  7. ๐Ÿ’ก Cadence: AI Momentum

  8. ๐ŸŽฎ NetEase: Marvel Rivals Boost

  9. ๐Ÿฆ Nu Holdings: FX Headwinds

  10. โ˜๏ธ Cloudflare: Acceleration Ahead

  11. ๐Ÿ”ฒ Block: Weak Quarter

  12. ๐Ÿ›ข๏ธ Oxy: Weak Pricing

  13. ๐Ÿถ Datadog: Cautious Outlook

  14. ๐ŸŽค Live Nation: Record Concert Demand

  15. ๐Ÿž Toast: Profitable Growth

  16. ๐Ÿ’ป Lenovo: AI Servers Fuel Growth

  17. ๐Ÿ›ต Grab: Rising Competition

  18. ๐Ÿด Klaviyo: Scaling Upmarket

  19. ๐Ÿ›๏ธ Global-E: Record Growth & Profitable

  20. ๐Ÿ“ฆ Etsy: GMS Decline Continues

  21. ๐Ÿš˜ Lyft: Record Growth

  22. ๐Ÿฝ๏ธ Tripadvisor: Experiences Drive Growth


1. ๐Ÿ›’ Walmart: Digital Strength

Walmartโ€™s revenue grew 4% Y/Y to $180.6 billion ($1.6 billion beat) in its Q4 FY25 (ending in January 2025), with US comparable sales up 5%. E-commerce remained a standout, rising 16% Y/Y and now comprising 18% of total sales. Higher-income households continued driving growth, and global advertising revenue jumped 29%.

However, FY26 guidance disappointed, with projected sales growth of 3%-4% and EPS of $2.50-$2.60 ($2.76 expected). Management cited economic uncertainty and potential tariff impacts, though it expects to outperform initial targets, as seen in prior years.

Walmartโ€™s focus on digital expansion, automation, and new revenue streams like advertising (including the recent VIZIO acquisition) and membership growth positions it well, even as consumer spending remains cautious. Despite near-term headwinds, market share gains and e-commerce profitability continue to drive long-term momentum.


2. ๐Ÿ“ฆ Alibaba: AI Powers Growth

Alibabaโ€™s revenue grew 8% Y/Y to $38.4 billion ($130 million beat), its fastest pace since 2023. Cloud revenue growth accelerated to 13% Y/Y (from 7% Y/Y in the previous quarter), fueled by six consecutive quarters of triple-digit AI growth. The company is doubling down on AI investments, with CEO Eddie Wu calling Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) Alibabaโ€™s "primary objective."

E-commerce also rebounded, withย Taobao and Tmallย revenue up 5%, including a 9% rise in customer management revenue, signaling improving monetization. International commerce soared 32%, led byย AliExpressย andย Trendyol.

Alibabaโ€™s renewed focus on AI and infrastructure investments, coupled with a partnership with Apple to integrate its AI into iPhones in China, has fueled a $100 billion market cap surge in 2025. Despite fierce competition from PDD and ByteDance, Alibabaโ€™s strategy is showing results.


3. ๐Ÿ๏ธ Booking: Travel Demand Still Strong

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