Chart explanation,below code.

pacman::p_load(pacman,tidyverse,gridExtra,zoo)

# Read the data
alibaba_data <- read_csv("Alibaba.csv", col_types = cols(
  Year = col_character(),
  `Billion CYD` = col_double()
))

# Convert Year to a date format for easier plotting
alibaba_data <- alibaba_data %>%
  separate(Year, into = c("Year", "Quarter"), sep = " ") %>%
  mutate(Quarter = case_when(
    Quarter == "Q1" ~ "01",
    Quarter == "Q2" ~ "04",
    Quarter == "Q3" ~ "07",
    Quarter == "Q4" ~ "10"
  ),
  Date = as.Date(paste(Year, Quarter, "01", sep = "-"))
  ) %>%
  select(Date, `Billion CYD`)

# Line chart with a smoothed line
line_plot <- ggplot(alibaba_data, aes(x = Date, y = `Billion CYD`)) +
  geom_line(color = "blue") +
  geom_smooth(method = "loess", color = "red") +
  labs(title = "Alibaba Sales Revenue Over Time", x = "Year", y = "Billion CYD") +
  theme_minimal()

# Bar chart
bar_plot <- ggplot(alibaba_data, aes(x = Date, y = `Billion CYD`)) +
  geom_bar(stat = "identity", fill = "lightblue") +
  labs(title = "Quarterly Alibaba Sales Revenue", x = "Year", y = "Billion CYD") +
  theme_minimal()

# Boxplot to show distribution by year
box_plot <- ggplot(alibaba_data, aes(x = factor(year(Date)), y = `Billion CYD`)) +
  geom_boxplot(fill = "orange") +
  labs(title = "Distribution of Alibaba Sales Revenue by Year", x = "Year", y = "Billion CYD") +
  theme_minimal()

# Check for seasonality by aggregating the average sales per quarter
seasonality_data <- alibaba_data %>%
  mutate(Quarter = quarters(Date)) %>%
  group_by(Quarter) %>%
  summarise(Average_Sales = mean(`Billion CYD`))

# Plot the seasonality data
seasonality_plot <- ggplot(seasonality_data, aes(x = Quarter, y = Average_Sales)) +
  geom_bar(stat = "identity", fill = "lightgreen") +
  labs(title = "Average Alibaba Sales by Quarter", x = "Quarter", y = "Average Sales (Billion CYD)") +
  theme_minimal()

# Combine all plots into a single display
grid.arrange(line_plot, bar_plot, box_plot, seasonality_plot, ncol = 1)
## `geom_smooth()` using formula = 'y ~ x'

Alibaba Sales Revenue Over Time:

This line graph demonstrates the overall growth of Alibaba’s quarterly sales revenue from 2013 to 2024. The blue line charts the actual quarterly revenue, showing a consistent upward trajectory over the years. The red line is a trendline, smoothing out the quarterly fluctuations to emphasise the general growth pattern. The peaks in the blue line correspond to quarters with exceptionally high sales, potentially due to seasonal factors, holiday shopping or special promotions. The overarching trend underscores Alibaba’s consistent revenue growth over time.

Quarterly Alibaba Sales Revenue:

This bar chart presents the quarterly sales revenue for each quarter from 2013 to 2024. The height of each bar signifies the revenue for that specific quarter. The chart visually reinforces the upward trend observed in the line graph, with the bars generally growing taller over time. The fluctuations in bar heights highlight the seasonality of Alibaba’s sales, with some quarters consistently outperforming others.

Distribution of Alibaba Sales Revenue by Year:

This boxplot offers a unique perspective on Alibaba’s annual sales revenue from 2013 to 2023. Each box represents the distribution of quarterly sales within a year. The line within the box indicates the median revenue, the box itself illustrates the interquartile range (middle 50% of the data), and the whiskers extend to the minimum and maximum values (excluding outliers). The black dots represent outliers, denoting exceptionally high or low quarterly sales for a specific year. The chart reveals the increasing trend in median and overall revenue over the years, as well as the widening range of quarterly sales as the business expands. Notably, there seems to be a steeper increase in sales and variability from 2019 onwards.

Average Alibaba Sales by Quarter:

This bar chart displays the average sales for each quarter (Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4) across all years. With Q3 leading and Q4 showing a slight edge over Q1 and Q2. The relatively similar bar heights imply that while overall revenue has grown, the relative performance of each quarter has remained fairly consistent.

In Summary:

Alibaba’s sales revenue has experienced substantial growth from 2013 to 2024, exhibiting a clear upward trend.

The growth is not strictly linear, with fluctuations influenced by seasonal factors and special events.

The dominant quarter for Alibaba, is Q3 with Q4 slightly outperforming Q1 and Q2.

The range of quarterly sales has widened with business expansion, but the relative performance of each quarter has remained fairly stable.

A notable acceleration in sales growth and variability is observed from 2019 onwards.