BAT Collectively Announces AI Product Price Increases! Stock Prices Down 15%-28% Since Mid-January

How AI Business Growth Drives Collective Price Increases for BAT

On March 18, Alibaba and Baidu announced price hikes for their cloud products on the same day, following Tencent Cloud’s price increase announced on March 1. The three major cloud service providers—BAT—have all issued statements about raising prices for AI computing products, including computing cards and storage, with increases ranging from 5% to 34%. Tencent’s tokens saw the highest rise, up to 400%. On that day, both A-shares and Hong Kong stocks rarely experienced a simultaneous rise in AI software and hardware, with Hang Seng Internet ETF (513330.SH) holdings such as Kingsoft Cloud and GDS seeing gains of over 15%.

Recently, BAT companies have been releasing their Q4 2025 and full-year financial reports, with a focus on AI business performance.

Among them, Baidu’s AI new business generated 11.3 billion yuan in revenue in Q4, accounting for 43% of Baidu’s overall revenue, up from 39% in the previous quarter.

Tencent Cloud achieved full-year profitability, driven by ongoing supply chain optimization and growth in PaaS and SaaS. In Q4, marketing services revenue reached 41.1 billion yuan, a 17% year-over-year increase, partly benefiting from AI-driven advertising targeting improvements. Additionally, it was disclosed that in Q4, capital expenditures amounted to 22.4 billion yuan, mainly supporting AI business development.

Alibaba’s financial report will be released on the evening of March 19.

In terms of stock performance, Alibaba, Baidu, and Tencent have retreated 15% to 28% since mid-January. However, in early March, their stock prices stabilized amid AI catalysts and earnings expectations.

Investors without Hong Kong stocks or trading access through Hong Kong Stock Connect can also participate via ETFs listed in A-shares, such as the Hang Seng Internet ETF (513330.SH), which passively tracks the Hang Seng Internet Technology Index. It supports T+0 intraday trading and covers leading internet, media, software, and service stocks (Tencent Holdings, Alibaba, Baidu, Xiaomi Group, NetEase, JD.com, etc.). BAT stocks account for nearly 40% of the ETF, with a relatively concentrated weight. Investors without securities accounts can also participate through off-market connection funds: Hua Xia Hang Seng Internet ETF Connect (A: 013171, C: 013172).

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