On Thursday, November 2nd, Alibaba (BABA) will release its second quarter earnings results after the bell. The company is a Zacks Rank 3 (Hold), and have a Value, Growth, and Momentum score of D.Dave will look at Alibaba's past earnings, take a look at what is currently going on with the company, and give us his thoughts on their upcoming earnings announcement.Furthermore, Dave will uncover some potential options trades for investors looking to make a play on Alibaba ahead of their earnings call.Alibaba in FocusAlibaba Group Holding Limited operates online and mobile marketplaces in retail and wholesale trade, as well as cloud computing and other services. It provides technology and services to enable consumers, merchants, and other participants to conduct commerce in its ecosystem. The Company operates Taobao Marketplace, an online shopping destination; Tmall, a third-party platform for brands and retailers; Juhuasuan, a group buying marketplace; Alibaba.com, an online business-to-business marketplace; 1688.com, an online wholesale marketplace; and AliExpress, a consumer marketplace. Alibaba Group Holding Limited is headquartered in Hangzhou, the People's Republic of China.Alibaba is expected to report earnings at $1.04 per share according to the Zacks Consensus Estimate. Last quarter they beat earnings expectations by 25.81%. They reported earnings at $1.17 per share, beating their estimate of $0.93. They have an average earnings surprise of 12.16% over the last 4 quarters.Alibaba Group Holding Limited Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise Alibaba Group Holding Limited Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise | Alibaba Group Holding Limited QuoteBottom LineHow should investors play United States Steel ahead of their earnings report? For insights on the best options trades, then tune in at 10:00 am CST today to see David’s thoughts.Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Alibaba Group Holding Limited (BABA): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research