Article content

BEIJING — Alibaba Group Holding Ltd’s e-commerce and mobile businesses surged in the September quarter, far outpacing its rivals’ and glossing over weakening margins and decelerating earnings growth.

Its shares edged as much as 3% higher to a record high after the Chinese e-commerce company reported a brisk 49% rise in the gross value of merchandise sold. The bump to shares fulfilled chairman Jack Ma’s wish by bumping Alibaba’s market cap to US$251-billion, above Walmart’s roughly $246 billion market cap.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Alibaba Group's market cap tops Wal-Mart as shares rise Back to video

Revenue rose 53.7% in the three months ending in September, dwarfing Amazon.com Inc’s 20% growth over the same period.

Alibaba’s first quarterly report since its record $25 billion U.S. initial public offering affirmed Wall Street’s expectations of industry-leading growth. Investors have focused on its dominance in China, despite concerns about corporate governance and sliding margins.