Alibaba (BABA) announced that the company’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Maggie Wu will step down from her role, effective April 1, 2022. She will be replaced by Toby Xu, currently serving as the Deputy CFO.
However, Maggie will continue to be the partner in the Alibaba Partnership and will continue to serve as an executive director on the company’s Board.
Shares of Alibaba, the Chinese company that operates online and mobile marketplaces for retail and wholesale trade, have lost 58% over the past year.
Maggie has served Alibaba for almost fifteen years and has made outstanding achievements. She has led three successful company public listings as CFO: Alibaba.com on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2007, and Alibaba Group Holding on the New York Stock Exchange in 2014 as well as on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2019. Toby Xu joined the company 3 years ago and was appointed as the Deputy Group CFO in July 2019.
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Departing CFO’s Comments
Departing CFO, Maggie Wu, commented, “The announcement of Alibaba’s CFO transition today is the culmination of extensive preparation over many years and a part of Alibaba’s leadership succession planning. We are in a relay race and we must have new generations of talent to take the company forward.”
She further added, “I trust Toby even more than I trusted myself when I first took up the CFO position years ago. I am confident that Toby – through his professional capabilities and leadership skills, and together with Daniel and the core management team – will successfully lead our team into the future.”
Management Weighs In
Chairman and CEO of Alibaba Group, Daniel Zhang, commented, “We are focused on the long-term, and succession within our management team on every occasion is always in the service of ensuring Alibaba will be stronger and better positioned for the future,”
Regarding the incoming CFO Toby, he further added, “We are certain that Toby is the right person to serve as our new Group CFO and, together with the core management team, will help lead our team towards our next success.”
Wall Street’s Take
Overall, the stock has a Strong Buy consensus rating based on 21 Buys and 2 Holds. The average Alibaba price target of $212.48 implies 89.78% upside potential.
Bloggers Weigh In
TipRanks data shows that financial blogger opinions are 85% Bullish on BABA against a sector average of 70%.
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