The stock of Alibaba Group (BABA) surged over 10% in premarket trading on Thursday after the company announced better-than-expected quarterly results, boosted by growth in its cloud segment, which prominently features its artificial intelligence projects.

For the December quarter, Alibaba reported a revenue increase of 7.6%, amounting to 280.15 billion Chinese yuan (around $38.5 billion) on a year-over-year basis. The earnings per share (EPS) for American Depositary Shares (ADS) of $2.93 also exceeded market forecasts. These results outperformed consensus estimates compiled by Visible Alpha.

CEO Eddie Wu stated, “The results from this quarter showcased significant advancements in our ‘user-first, AI-driven’ strategies and the revitalized growth of our core services.”

He further noted that revenue from the cloud segment grew by 13% year-over-year during the fiscal third quarter, with income from artificial intelligence products achieving triple-digit growth for the sixth consecutive quarter.

Alibaba’s Stock Performance Over the Past Year

In the past year, Alibaba’s shares have increased dramatically by 70% up to Wednesday, propelled by news of its collaboration with Apple (AAPL) to develop AI features for iPhones in China. Additional positive factors for the stock include reports that co-founder Jack Ma is back in favor with the government, having recently attended a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, according to The Wall Street Journal.