Amazon.com Inc. and China-based Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. are poised for retail growth, and analysts say that could put them on the path to an e-commerce showdown as they expand beyond their borders.

While the two companies are operating in different geographies for now, they are both developing their international businesses, which raises the question of whether—or when—there will one day be a clash of titans.

Even before the earnings were announced, GBH Insights’ Daniel Ives said Amazon’s AMZN, -1.78% Prime membership program helped the company snap up half of holiday e-commerce sales.

Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData Retail, calls Amazon “one of the clear winners over the holiday season,” with 28% sales growth even without taking Whole Foods into account. (The sales growth was 38% when Whole Foods is added in.)

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Looking forward, Saunders says Prime, the growth in Echo device sales and subscription revenue will help drive continued growth, as the company is “still nowhere near its potential.” Digging even deeper, it’s in certain retail areas, like home and apparel, where the company is “underpenetrated and with tweaks to its proposition should be able to make further gains.”

And new geographies like Australia could give sales a boost.

“In our view, Amazon is now rapidly moving to a company that supports consumers across multiple aspects of their lives,” Saunders wrote.

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Alibaba BABA, -1.20% is also viewed by analysts as long on growth potential.

“International expansion is still in the early stages and presents an attractive near-/intermediate-term opportunity,” wrote Stifel analysts led by Scott Devitt in a note. Stifel rates Alibaba shares a buy with a $260 price target.

Among the investments that should “improve long-term monetization and the competitive position” is one in “multi-channel retail,” Stifel said.

Moreover, Alibaba is evolving in consumer service areas that are deemed to be Amazon’s sweet spots.

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“Alibaba is building a defensible, global commerce ecosystem by investing in the user experience, personalization/consumer data analytics and omnichannel retail initiatives,” the Stifel note says.

Analysts at Benchmark highlight the international retail growth at Alibaba during the most recent quarter, up 93% year-over-year. That compares with Amazon’s international sales growth of 29%.

“Management sees strong synergy with its core commerce businesses notably the New Retail strategy, user growth/retention of its online retail platforms and international expansion,” the note said.

MKM Partners drew an investment parallel between the two companies, though investor reaction still favors Amazon.

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“We think Alibaba’s opportunity set is as promising and investable as Amazon’s,” analyst Rob Sanderson wrote. “Alibaba’s raised revenue with outlook suggesting operating profit around 10% below consensus, which we think is conservative.” He notes shares closed Thursday down 6%.

“Amazon offered outlook fairly in-line on revenue but with higher spending and operating profit guidance 40% below consensus at the high end,” Sanderson wrote, noting that Amazon’s shares were up 6% at one point in after hours.