---
title: "Citigroup: AI helps mainland internet companies improve operational efficiency, optimistic about Tencent and Alibaba-W"
type: "News"
locale: "en"
url: "https://longbridge.com/en/news/271595266.md"
description: "Citi released a research report, predicting that the mainland internet industry will enhance operational efficiency through AI-assisted cost optimization by 2026, with some companies potentially achieving revenue growth through effective deployment of AI agents. The report pointed out that Tencent and Alibaba-W are core AI investment concept stocks. Citi maintains a \"Buy\" rating on Tencent with a target price of HKD 751, and also a \"Buy\" rating on Alibaba with a target price of HKD 223"
datetime: "2026-01-06T03:12:04.000Z"
locales:
  - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/271595266.md)
  - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/news/271595266.md)
  - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/271595266.md)
---

> Supported Languages: [简体中文](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/271595266.md) | [繁體中文](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/271595266.md)


# Citigroup: AI helps mainland internet companies improve operational efficiency, optimistic about Tencent and Alibaba-W

According to the Zhitong Finance APP, Citigroup published a research report indicating that the mainland internet industry will focus on three major themes in 2026: first, the growth of recurring revenue from cloud infrastructure, model stacks, and the use of inference tokens; second, major internet companies competing for user traffic of AI chatbots in hopes of monetizing future ecosystems; third, vertical sector companies deploying self-training proprietary data AI agents to maintain competitive advantages and enhance user engagement and monetization potential.

The report points out that most internet companies are expected to improve operational leverage through AI-assisted cost optimization, with some companies more likely to achieve accelerated revenue growth due to effective deployment of AI agents. With the rapid adoption of AI assistant tools, consumers' work and life efficiency is expected to improve, allowing more time for leisure and entertainment activities.

Citigroup expects that sustained demand for travel and online gaming will support stable revenue growth for online travel and gaming companies, providing good diversification for portfolios to offset the higher risks associated with AI hype.

For the Chinese internet sector, Citigroup prefers Tencent Holdings (00700) and Alibaba-W (09988) as core AI investment concept stocks. The bank maintains a "Buy" rating on Tencent Holdings with a target price of HKD 751, believing that the company's AI development prospects in enterprise and user applications are promising. For Alibaba, Citigroup also gives a "Buy" rating with a target price of HKD 223, optimistic about its performance in cloud revenue growth and efficiency improvement

### Related Stocks

- [Tencent Holdings Limited (TCEHY.US)](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/TCEHY.US.md)
- [Tencent Holdings Limited (TCTZF.US)](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/TCTZF.US.md)
- [TENCENT (00700.HK)](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/00700.HK.md)
- [Alibaba Group Holding Limited (BABA.US)](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/BABA.US.md)
- [BABA-W (09988.HK)](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/09988.HK.md)

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