Alibaba (BABA) is already one of the largest companies in China, as well as the world. After a massive IPO in 2014, and despite its share price struggling in 2015, the company’s third quarter earnings have brought back strong optimism from shareholders and potential investors. Despite a still struggling Chinese economy, the online retail giant beat analyst forecasts, and seems poised to continue rising. Efforts to expand their portfolio and their international reach have given the company substantial tailwinds for growth. Increasing penetration in the Chinese market has also helped ensure the company will remain on a solid growth trend for years to come. Finally, a series of joint ventures and acquisitions have positioned Alibaba to further expand their user base and continue delivering value to shareholders.

Great Third Quarter

Alibaba’s recently reported third quarter earnings were a breath of fresh air to investors who had seen the company’s shares take a beating over the past year, with prices losing almost 40% of their value over the summer, before regaining it recently. The earnings report, released last week, shows a company that has been aggressively expanding and is increasingly dominating the online retail market in China.

The company’s revenue for the third quarter rose by 32% year over year to RMB 22.17 billion, mostly on the back of an increasingly profitable and reliable Chinese mobile segment that grew revenues by 183% from RMB 3.7 to RMB 10.52 billion. This growth in mobile revenues has been a fantastic boon for Alibaba, as they have been able to increase their mobile monetization rate to 2.39% (a 10% increase). That number should only increase in the next few years, as Alibaba continues to expand their reach in the mobile sector.

Another strong area for the company was their impressive Gross Merchandise Volume (GMV) for the quarter. Overall, Alibaba reported RMB 438 billion in GMV. This represents a 15% year over year improvement in the total number, and a 28% increase over the previous quarter. This is made all the more impressive when considering that for the quarter, mobile GMV represented 62% of the total amount. This is in keeping with a positive trend in the past eight quarters of growing the company’s mobile footprint in China.