ACA-BIGDATA1 test - ACA Big Data Certification Updated: 2024

China’s e-commerce giant Alibaba (NYSE:BABA) has been quite the growth company, increasing its revenues by 15x over the past decade. However, the compounded annual growth rate [CAGR] of 31% over this time has slowed down considerably to 11% for the first half of the current financial year (H1 FY24, ending September 2023).

This is reflected in its stock performance too, which is down by 17% year-to-date [YTD]. But the company is certainly putting up a fight with latest management changes. Here, I take a closer look at what these changes mean for Alibaba and its future stock performance.

Management changes and more tech focus

2023 has been quite the year of changes for Alibaba’s top management, following a poor set of results for FY23 that saw its revenues contracting. In June, Eddie Yongming Wu became the CEO of the company, taking over from Daniel Zhang. After Zhang also quit as the CEO of the Alibaba Cloud Intelligence division in September, Wu took on that position as well.

In the latest move announced yesterday, Wu will now also head up the company’s China focused e-commerce business, Taobao and Tmall Group. He takes over the role from Trudy Lai, who had become CEO of the group only in March this year.

The changes come at a time of renewed technology focus for the company, and Wu has a long history as a Chief Technology Officer in various parts of the company. In his statement at the time of the latest results release, he mentions “brand-new opportunities from the ongoing AI technological transformation”.

While technology has always been critical for Alibaba, it's interesting to note that the CFO, Toby Xu mentions it in his statement as well. He says, “we are prioritizing investment in technology and innovations for our businesses to drive new growth”, in a departure from what’s normally just a financial update.

Re-energising Taobao and Tmall Group

The timing of the latest move, which puts Wu at the helm of the Taobao and Tmall Group, is particularly significant for two reasons. First, the group is the company’s biggest revenue generator. It had a share of 44% in segment-wise revenues for the six months ending September 2023 (H1 FY24). It also has a huge market share of 51%, which further underlines its importance.

However, it has faced challenges recently, as revenue growth has slowed dramatically since the pre-pandemic period. In H1 FY24, the group showed just 8% year-on-year (YoY) growth compared to the 42% increase in the core commerce business, which it was then part of, in the comparable pre-pandemic period in 2019.

To provide the group its due, it has seen a recovery after a contraction in FY23 due to COVID-19 lockdowns, but this can hardly be called a bounce back. In fact, it's worth noting that in the FY23 results release, the company alludes to rising competition, besides the pandemic, as one of the reasons for the outcome.

A key emerging competitor is the Temu owner PDD Holdings (PDD). Admittedly, it’s still quite small, with revenues at just 15% of Alibaba’s for the last financial year. But there’s something to be said for its 39% growth in its last financial compared to Alibaba’s decline, which indicates that the pandemic was not the sole challenge.

Growth strategy for the segment

There seem to be some signs of improvement for the Taobao and Tmall Group, though. In the earnings release, the company says it has “achieved healthy year-over-year organic growth of Taobao app users”, and that “the number of transacting buyers and order volume also increased” in the third quarter (Q3 FY24).

It attributes these to the implementation of two of the three parts to its growth strategy for the business, namely increased content and price competitiveness. So far, however, these haven't been reflected in the revenue figures, which grew by an even smaller 4% in Q3 FY24 compared to the 8% for H1 FY24.

Alibaba does have the third part of the strategy still up its sleeve though, and that is the use of AI applications and tools, which ties in with Wu's past experience in technology. Specifically, it is focused on improving merchant efficiency through improvement in both the operation and monetisation platforms. AI technologies have also been extended to upgrade the advertising platform with data analysis and marketing tools, as well as AI advertising content.

Attractive market multiples

To determine where the stock stands today, however, I’d focus more on the earnings figures. Unlike revenue growth, profit figures have strengthened this year, which is a positive. The net income attributable to stockholders has risen by 28x in H1 FY24 after a week last year. If the company were to continue showing the same trend in H2 FY24 as well, its forward GAAP price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio would be at 11x, which is slightly higher than the analysts’ average estimate (see table below), but much lower than the stock’s own five-year average of 27.3x.

What next?

So can Alibaba turn around its stock fortunes in 2024? If the management changes tell us anything, it’s that the company is taking steps back to higher growth, with a focus now on the Taobao and Tmall Group, which is of particular significance in revenue terms. The group’s growth so far has been rather muted this year, but the company does have a three-pronged strategy for revival, which makes me hopeful.

In any case, balancing the underwhelming revenue figures is the improvement in earnings this year. This in turn makes the market multiples attractive against the stock’s past figures.

I would hesitate to put a number to the possible price upside, though. While investor uncertainty this year about the stock can be attributed to a lower-than-expected recovery in post-COVID-19 China and the company's own numbers, the changes in top management have likely impacted it too. In fact, the stock didn’t react well to the latest news either, with an almost 3% decline, the biggest since its H1 FY24 results were released in mid-November when it fell by over 9%.

If management changes continue, the stock can fluctuate more than expected. However, fluctuations will likely only limit the extent of the upside. Broadly speaking, the signs look good for Alibaba's stock in 2024. I'm going with a Buy rating on it.

Editor's Note: This article discusses one or more securities that do not trade on a major U.S. exchange. Please be aware of the risks associated with these stocks.

QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise offers a more powerful accounting alternative to the popular QuickBooks Online. It’s stuffed with accounting features that bigger businesses need ― along with the support and education materials to help your business take advantage of your new software. Plus, businesses like contractors, manufacturers and wholesale retailers can get an extra boost with QuickBooks’s industry-tailored editions.

Still, QuickBooks isn’t as powerful as other enterprise accounting tools, so large businesses may prefer a more scalable alternative instead.

Jump to:

QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise’s pricing

Intuit offers three QuickBooks Enterprise plans: Gold, Platinum and Diamond. So while the software starts at a little under $2,000 per year, your Quickbooks Desktop Enterprise cost will depend on how many features you need. Some features, like cloud access and payment processing, have extra fees above your plan cost.

Fortunately, QuickBooks offers a 30-day free trial, so you can test out all the features for yourself. Plus, QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise comes with a 60-day money-back guarantee.

Gold

For the cheapest QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise pricing, you’ll want the Gold plan. It starts at $1,830 per year, with annual billing only. (That may seem a little steep if you’re used to accounting software for small business, but it’s perfectly normal for enterprise software.)

You can have up to 30 users on your Gold plan, and you’ll get core QuickBooks features like built-in payroll and reporting. Even on this lowest-tier plan, you can use QuickBooks Enterprise Desktop to manage multiple companies.

Platinum

The next tier up, Platinum, starts at $2,250 per year. Like the Gold plan, the QuickBooks Enterprise Platinum plan lets you add up to 30 users, and it gives you payroll and reporting.

Of course, Platinum gives you extra features too ― like automation through advanced inventory and advanced pricing. You also get workflow approvals for bills and purchase orders

$2,250 per year. Not all businesses will need these features, but manufacturing, retail and wholesale businesses will likely find them worth the extra cost over Gold.

Diamond

For the most QuickBooks Enterprise features, you can pick the Diamond plan. This one starts at $4,400 per year, but unlike the other plans, it has monthly (rather than annual) billing.

This plan gives you extra automation features through assisted payroll. It also gives you the option to add time tracking and the Salesforce CRM Connector ― but keep in mind that these features have extra per-employee fees. So while this plan does offer the most features, it may be too pricey for most businesses.

QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise’s key features

Accounting tools

As you might expect, QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise has a very comprehensive set of accounting features. So comprehensive, in fact, that it includes all the features we look for as we evaluate accounting software.

For instance, QuickBooks includes built-in payroll, so you won’t have to mess around with integrating with a different payroll software. It has a thorough set of ready-to-go reports, along with the ability to create new reports.

You’ll also find tools for receipt scanning, mileage tracking and payment acceptance ― not to mention tools for taxes, inventory and forecasting.

Plus, QuickBooks Desktop integrates with over 200 third-party apps, so you can add extra accounting functionality that way too.

Now, QuickBooks’s tools may not always be the most advanced. It offers some accounting automation, for example, but other software like NetSuite has far more powerful automation. Even so, the sheer breadth of features QuickBooks offers makes it a competitive enterprise accounting software.

Industry-specific solutions

Along with everyday accounting tools, QuickBooks Enterprise Desktop offers industry-specific  editions with extra features. Accountants, contractors, manufacturers, non-profits, professional services and retail and wholesale businesses can all enjoy an industry-tailored QuickBooks experience.

Take the accountant edition. Along with the normal accounting tools, it offers accountant-specific features like version control and batch transactions — making it a great accounting software for multiple businesses. Or consider the wholesale edition, which lets you calculate landed cost, offers multi-location inventory and includes extra reports like open sales orders.

Likewise, a non-profit can save time by using nine tailored reports ― like contribution summaries ― instead of setting those up manually. And the professional services edition lets you analyze profitability by customer, geography and other factors, helping you make informed business decisions. It also eliminates the need for other software by allowing you to track customer prepayments and create customizable proposals.

These extra features elevate QuickBooks above one-size-fits-all accounting software. So if you happen to work in one of the supported industries, a specific edition of QuickBooks Desktop could save you time and fit seamlessly into your workflow.

Learning and support

Like any enterprise software, QuickBooks Desktop can feel overwhelming at first. But unlike full-fledged ERPs like NetSuite, QuickBooks still focuses on accessibility and ease of use ― which becomes apparent when you look at its extensive knowledge and support features.

For starters, all Enterprise plans come with QuickBooks Priority Circle. This premium customer support plan gives you 24/7 phone and chat help. It also includes perks like call-backs (to save you time) and screen sharing (to save you frustration), making it better than run-of-the-mill accounting support.

QuickBooks Priority Circle also gives you access to training courses and webinars, so you can learn best practices for QuickBooks Enterprise and accounting as a whole.

Throw in in-depth guides and demos, and you and your team should have no problem learning the ins and outs of QuickBooks. That makes QuickBooks Enterprise an accounting product you can actually use from the get-go ― which can make it more appealing than more complex options.

QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise pros

• 24/7 Priority Circle customer support with all Enterprise plans.
• 30-day free trial along with 60-day money-back guarantee.
• Over 200 app integrations.
• Full-featured accounting with multi-currency support, receipt scanning and more.
• Free accountant access on all plans.

QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise cons

• Concerns over ongoing product support.
• Far fewer automation tools than cloud accounting software.
• Longer setup process than QuickBooks Online.
• Poor reviews for mobile app.

If QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise isn’t ideal for you, check out these alternatives

Sage

While QuickBooks Desktop is fairly user-friendly, it’s hard to beat the ease of using Sage Intacct. This enterprise accounting software features an AI-powered general ledger, which means you can get more work done with much less effort. Likewise, Sage Intacct has much more powerful automation tools than QuickBooks Desktop, so you can spend less time on repetitive tasks.

In other words, if you want to save time on day-to-day accounting, Sage Intacct offers more value than QuickBooks Desktop.

NetSuite

Oracle NetSuite is our favorite enterprise accounting software, beating out QuickBooks Enterprise and other competitors. While QuickBooks Desktop offers a full suite of accounting tools, Oracle NetSuite includes far more features in its ERP. Think customer management, ecommerce and more. So NetSuite can replace more of your software ― and scale to work for much larger businesses.

If you worry about QuickBooks Desktop having enough oomph for your business, NetSuite could be a better alternative.

QuickBooks Online

If, on the other hand, you’re not sure you need all the tools QuickBooks Desktop includes, you may want to stick with a small-business accounting software like QuickBooks online. It tops our list of the best accounting apps thanks to its variety of plans, excellent invoicing tools and solid accounting tools. You don’t get all the power of QuickBooks Desktop, but QuickBooks Online costs much less ― and it includes features like cloud access at no extra cost.

That makes QuickBooks Online a good alternative for businesses that aren’t quite ready for QuickBooks Enterprise yet.

Review methodology

Our accounting software experts graded QuickBooks Enterprise on over 30 factors across five categories ― including pricing, accounting features, ease of use, customer experience and more. Then we used our standardized rubric to calculate how QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise compares to other enterprise and small-business accounting solutions.

BOSTON (WHDH) - STATE HOUSE, BOSTON, JAN. 2, 2024…..The Senate is poised to kick off the second year of the legislative session with a trio of bills that seek to help people with disabilities and to make fentanyl test strips legal.

Senators on Tuesday teed up the three bills to debate at their Thursday session: to protect people who administer or use fentanyl test strips from criminal liability (S 2458), expand wheelchair warranty protections for people with disabilities (S 152), and require new guidance on how police officers should interact with people with autism (S 2204).

Fentanyl Test Strips

Sen. Cynthia Creem said the chief of police in her hometown of Newton first approached her about fentanyl test strips, saying that they are an important overdose prevention resource but are illegal in the state.

“They’re highly effective, easy to carry around, everything is right, except it’s considered drug paraphernalia in Massachusetts,” Creem said.

The testing strips can warn people if drugs or pills they plan to use contain the potentially deadly synthetic opiate that has infiltrated drug supplies across the country, fentanyl.

To test for fentanyl, a person can dissolve a small amount of cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin or other drug in water, then dip a test strip in the solution. Results take two to five minutes, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.

Fentanyl is similar to morphine but 50 to 100 times more powerful, the National Institute on Drug Abuse said, and oftentimes people do not realize it is in the drugs they are using. The synthetic opioid began being recorded as responsible for an increased amount of drug-related deaths about a decade ago.

The powerful synthetic opioid fentanyl is now so prolific in Massachusetts’ drug supply that its presence is being detected in the vast majority of fatal opioid overdoses, and it’s also being detected in drugs such as cocaine, benzodiazepines and methamphetamine.

In the first three months of 2023, fentanyl was present in 93 percent of all fatal overdoses in Massachusetts, according to the most latest available data from the Department of Public Health.

“The drug supply is poisoned. Even for those who are using other substances like cocaine, methamphetamine and benzodiazepines, fentanyl is the likely contaminant that is driving overdose deaths,” DPH Commissioner Robert Goldstein said in December.

Individual test strips are about $1 each, but states where they are legal also commonly have community programs that provide the test strips out for free. Since 2022, 16 states have legalized the tool, Creem said.

Under Massachusetts law, possession or sale of drug paraphernalia is punishable by up to two years in prison or a fine of $500. The definition specifically includes “testing equipment used, primarily intended for use or designed for use in identifying or in analyzing the strength, effectiveness or purity of controlled substances.”

Creem’s bill also includes an explicit good samaritan provision that exempts criminal or civil liability for “any person who, in good faith provides, administers, or utilizes fentanyl test strips or any testing equipment or devices solely used, intended for use, or designed to be used to determine whether a substance contains fentanyl or its analogues.”

The Newton Democrat said she envisions that the law could protect people who work with those with opioid use disorder, or have a loved one who uses drugs. She also said bartenders could provide out the strips in settings where people may be using drugs.

“It’s not that expensive. My hope is that we make people aware that they may be available in a bar, at schools,” Creem said. “It would allow a drug user to decide not to use that substance. It doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll be drug free, but they would better understand the dangers, or may not have tolerance for fentanyl, so they would know that substance was not something they could use.”

Wheelchair Warranty Protections

Senators will also debate a Sen. John Cronin bill on Thursday to expand wheelchair warranty protections.

The bill would require every wheelchair sold or leased in Massachusetts to come with at least a two-year warranty. During the warranty period, manufacturers would be required to provide a remote assessment for a defective wheelchair within three business days and an in-person assessment four business days after that. If an individual needs a temporary loaner wheelchair, the manufacturer would also have to provide one within a few days.

This bill would catch Massachusetts up with other states, Cronin said. Rhode Island and Connecticut require two-year warranties for wheelchairs. Massachusetts currently has a law requiring manufacturers to provide warranties to some individuals, but it is limited in scope. It only mandates a year-long warranty, doesn’t apply to all wheelchairs, and there are no current requirements on how quickly manufacturers must respond.

“It’s a bread and butter consumer protection bill that is going to be impactful for a population that is really vulnerable and the laws need to be strengthened to protect right now,” Cronin said.

Senators passed a version of the bill last session, though it didn’t make its way through the House. It was passed during informal sessions in 2022, Cronin said, after most formal business and roll call votes were done for the year.

The Fitchburg Democrat said he has spoken about the bill with people from the disability community who have recounted being “stranded” in their homes, unable to work or pick up their children from school without a working wheelchair.

“A broken chair affects not just their lives but their family’s lives,” he said. “The analogy that I use, if I’m on [Route] 128 and I have a flat tire or my car breaks down, I’ll get a tow truck or a service provider in an hour or two tops. We believe these are really reasonable standards we’re asking the wheelchair repair industry to meet.”

Chris Hoeh, a disability advocate and wheelchair user, said the repair process has always been slow, but that it has gotten markedly worse in the last year.

Hoeh uses a power wheelchair that he said cost $65,000. He noticed an issue with it in September — an important piece fell off, exposing the underside. Hoeh said he had to duct tape the chair to temporarily cover the exposed section.

The company he purchased it from could not do a remote evaluation of the damage until late October. After that evaluation, the earliest they could send a technician to Hoeh’s house for repairs was December 22, he said. Hoeh has a van and can drive — though not all wheelchair users can — so he asked when the earliest he could get an appointment at the repair shop was. It was still over a month away, and his chair was finally serviced on Nov. 28.

Hoeh said the repair did not fix all the issues with his wheelchair, and also lowered its clearance so he had trouble getting behind the steering wheel of his van. Asked when a technician could come fix the problems, Hoeh said he was told he’d have to wait until March.

The disability advocate said Cronin’s bill would be a “huge improvement,” and was especially excited about the shortened timeline for repair and requiring companies to provide loaner chairs for long repairs.

“If you don’t have a loaner chair then you’re stuck in bed,” Hoeh said. “People use the term wheelchair-bound. But wheelchairs free us. If we don’t have a chair we’re stuck in our bed or stuck in our house. And that’s not a dignified life.”

Interactions Between Police Officers and People with Autism

Drivers with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have a particularly challenging time during police stops and can end up in dangerous situations, disability advocates say.

Autism is associated with communication and social interaction difficulties. Some people on the autism spectrum exhibit repetitive behaviors, sometimes called “stimming,” such as hand-flapping, body rocking or repeating certain phrases. These behaviors can escalate if a person is agitated or anxious.

Without training, police officers can misread the actions of an individual on the autism spectrum and use force in a situation where it could have been avoided, advocates say.

Marie Zullo, a Norfolk mother of an adult child with autism, recounted a story of her son being pulled over to lawmakers during a June hearing on Sen. Jo Comerford’s and Rep. Kay Kahn’s bill (S 2204 / H 2259).

“Dominic is a safe, conscientious driver, but we worry the unexpected may be his undoing,” Zullo said.

She said her son could panic and become dysregulated, and hit himself or make dramatic statements in a situation with police. He could also have trouble processing what a police officer is saying to him.

“Last June, Dominic was rear-ended in an accident. In a panic, he started to apologize for an accident that was not his fault. He paced toward the highway traffic, his voice getting louder as he became dysregulated,” Zullo said. “Fortunately, my husband was with my son and was able to keep him safe, though was having trouble calming him.”

Her husband told the officer at the scene that Dominic was on the autism spectrum, and the police helped calm her son down and understand what had happened, Zullo said.

Comerford and Kahn’s bill creates a voluntary program to make available “blue envelopes” to hold the driver’s license, registration and insurance cards of a driver with autism. The bill also tasks advocates, chiefs of police, and the Registry of Motor Vehicles to create guidance for officers that will appear on the outside of the envelope.

Other states, including Connecticut, have similar programs.

The Massachusetts State Police Association and a representative of the Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association testified in favor of the bill during the June hearing.

“Massachusetts police officers conduct thousands of traffic stops each year. While most of these interactions are relatively routine, officers do not know who they are interacting with before the traffic stop so they proceed with caution,” UMass Amherst Police Chief Tyrone Parham said in a statement about the bill.

He continued, “The introduction of the blue envelope under these stressful interactions will provide immediate information and context to the officer as they begin to communicate. Traffic stops are some of the most dangerous citizen interactions by police and this additional informative information gleaned by the blue [envelope] will be extremely helpful.”

Comerford said some police departments began using the blue envelopes in their towns after local advocate Max Callahan, who has autism, began pushing for Massachusetts to start the program. Deerfield Police Chief John Paciorek “took it into his own hands” to use the system after meeting with Callahan, Comerford said.

This is the second time she has filed the bill, but the Northampton Democrat said “it’s an idea whose time has come in Massachusetts.”

“Having a visual reminder that someone may communicate in different ways and that someone can’t just jump to an assumption about behavior, communication, eye contact or body language … this could help both first responders and people with autism have an understanding and see each other as more human,” Comerford said.

Comerford said Callahan, Parham and other advocates will be at the State House on Thursday for the Senate debate.

(Copyright (c) 2023 State House News Service.