Alibaba's cloud computing revenue up 50%, Q3 revenue beats estimate

　　Alibaba's cloud computing revenue skyrocketed by 50 percent in the December quarter to reach 16.11 billion yuan (about $2.5 billion), beating Q3 total revenue estimates, buoyed by "robust growth in revenue from customers in the internet and retail industries and the public sector."

　　Alibaba reported profitability for its cloud computing business for the first time. The tech mogul has been trying to diversify its business layout aside from e-commerce for some time.

　　"Our cloud computing business continues to expand market leadership and show strong growth, reflecting the massive potential of China's nascent cloud computing market, as well as our years of investment in technology," Alibaba CEO Daniel Zhang said in a press release.

　　Revenue generated from Cainiao Network's logistics services, the tech behemoth's one-stop-shop logistics services, settled at 11.36 billion yuan in the interim after deducting inter-company transactions. That was 51 percent above the year-earlier period.

　　Alibaba's total revenue came in at 221.08 billion yuan in the three months ended December 31, beating analysts' estimates of 214.4 billion yuan.

　　Its annual active consumers climbed to 779 million, dwarfing the 711 million logged a year earlier. Meanwhile, mobile monthly active users jumped by 78 percent to reach 902 million.