We recently published a list of 12 High Growth International Stocks to Invest in Now. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) stands against other high growth international stocks to invest in now.

What To Expect From The Stock Market in 2025?

On January 15, Jurrien Timmer, Director of Global Macro at Fidelity Management & Research Company shared his outlook for 2025. He believes that the market has lost some of its momentum as the prospects of more rate cuts in 2025 have gone slimmer. One of the reasons for less likely rate cuts came a few weeks ago with a stronger-than-expected job market report, which sparked a market dip. Moreover, on the same day, long-term interest rates went higher. The 10-year treasury yield climbed closer to the 5% mark which has haunted stocks in the past.

However, Timmer believes the market is still in a bull phase, primarily driven by rising earnings, which he expects will continue to support market growth. This optimism is grounded in the historical performance of bull markets, where earnings often play a crucial role in sustaining upward momentum. He pointed out that as bull markets mature, they typically experience greater volatility. This means that even minor disruptions can lead to significant market fluctuations. High price-to-earnings (P/E) ratios contribute to this sensitivity, as elevated valuations can make the market more susceptible to corrections. Timmer also highlighted his concerns over interest rates, specifically, the Fed’s ability to cut rates, which are likely to persist. This “interest-rate angst” could continue influencing market behavior throughout the year, as investors will continue to grapple with how rate changes can affect stock valuations and overall economic conditions.

Moreover, Timmer also discussed the shifting dynamics in the stock market, particularly focusing on the transition from a narrow leadership group to a broader market participation. He noted that in the latter half of 2024, there was a notable shift in market leadership from the “Magnificent 7”, to a wider array of stocks. This broadening indicates that more sectors and companies are contributing to market gains, which is generally seen as a positive sign for overall market health. However, since mid-December, following the Fed’s reduced expectations for interest rate cuts, the market has lost momentum, as only 24% of stocks were trading above their 50-day moving average, and just 29% of S&P 500 stocks were outperforming the index. This indicates a narrowing participation in market gains, which is concerning for investors who prefer broad-based growth.

While talking about large-cap stock performance, Timmer raises the question of whether this trend of narrow leadership will persist. He suggested that trends continue to move in the same direction until a significant change occurs. Given that large-cap growth stocks have dominated for years, it is reasonable to assume that they may continue to lead. However, he also cautioned the investors that as per the concept of mean reversion, asset prices will eventually return to their historical averages and when this happens, it could lead to sharp corrections in stock prices. Timmer believes that while 2024 was a “Goldilocks year,” for earnings and valuations, this year can be a tussle between higher earnings and rising long-term interest rates, thereby resulting in a volatile market.

Our Methodology

To curate the list of 12 high-growth international stocks to invest in now, we used the Finviz stock screener and Seeking Alpha. We used the screener as a starting point of our research to get (Ex-USA) stocks that have grown their revenue by more than 15% during the last 5 years. Next, we checked these stocks for 10-year revenue growth rates from Seeking Alpha and selected only those stocks that had grown by more than 25% during the last decade. Lastly, we ranked the stocks in ascending order of the number of hedge fund holders sourced from Insider Monkey’s third-quarter database.

Why do we care about what hedge funds do? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points (see more details here).

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)

10-Year Revenue Growth Rate: 31.26%

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 115

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) is a major Chinese multinational company that focuses on various technology and e-commerce services. Its key business segments range from e-commerce platforms to logistics services, cloud computing, local consumer services, and more.

Lately, the company has been focused on user-focused strategy and advancements in artificial intelligence. Its focus on user engagement resulted in Taobao and Tmall witnessing a significant increase in monthly active users during the fiscal second quarter of 2025. This led to an increase in Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) on these platforms. Moreover, The number of 88VIP members, a loyalty program for high-spending customers, grew to 46 million, indicating strong customer retention and engagement. Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) generated RMB236,503 million (US$33,701 million) in revenue during the quarter, indicating an increase of 5% year-over-year.

Analysts expect the company to continue posting gains. Joyce Ju, analyst at Bank of America Securities raised the price target for BABA from $112 to $117, while keeping a Buy rating on the stock. The firm believes that the company will report 9% year-over-year during the fiscal third quarter of 2025, surpassing Street’s expectation by 2%. Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) ranks as the top high-growth international stock to invest in now.

Conventum – Alluvium Global Fund stated the following regarding Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) in its Q3 2024 investor letter:

“On 24 September the People’s Bank of China unveiled a massive three part stimulus package involving: (1) slashing the amount of cash banks need to hold in reserve and lowering the main policy interest rate; (2) cutting mortgage rates on existing home loans by 0.5% and reducing down payment requirements for second homes from 25% to 15%; and (3) supporting equity markets by a USD 114b lending pool to encourage companies to buy back shares and non-bank financial institutions to buy local equities (which may be expanded by the same amount two more times)5 . We are flabbergasted. But we shouldn’t be. After all, these types of arrangements have been all too common over the last 15 years. The local equity markets responded with gusto, and for the last week of the quarter the CSI 300 Index (Shanghai and Shenzen listed companies) was up 25.1%. Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) was not lost in all this, and returned 26.8% over that one week period. But Alibaba had already performed well so during the whole September quarter it was up a staggering 56.0%. As a result, Alibaba is no longer the cheap stock it once was. It now trades at a premium to our valuation – a valuation which admittedly had been progressively reduced over our holding period as a result of deteriorating business fundamentals. As a result of Alibaba’s significant outperformance, by the end of the quarter it had reached 3.7% of the Fund. We are weighing up our options here, considering the relative risk.”

Overall, BABA ranks 1st on our list of high growth international stocks to invest in now. While we acknowledge the potential of BABA to grow, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than BABA but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.

READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and Complete List of 59 AI Companies Under $2 Billion in Market Cap

Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.