I have been bullish on Baidu, Inc. (NASDAQ: BIDU ) for as long as I can remember. The company's first-mover advantages in commercializing AI technology in China, its leading position in China's autonomous driving market including robotaxis, the ongoing transformation of itsDilantha De Silva is an experienced equity analyst and investment researcher with over 10 years in the investment industry. He writes insightful articles for Seeking Alpha, GuruFocus, TipRanks, and ValueWalk, with a significant following ...

"We're in an asset bubble, and TQI can help you navigate it profitably"I am Ahan Vashi, a seasoned investor with professional background in equity research, private equity, and software engineering. I currently serve as the Chief Financial Engineer at The Quantamental Investor, a community pursuing financial freedom through bold, active investing with proactive risk management. TQI was established in July 2022 with a singular mission to make investing simple, fun, and profitable for all investors. In alignm ...

交银国际研究 | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | |----------|--------------|----------------|-------|----------|-------|-------------------------------| | 公司更新 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 互联网 | 收盘价 | 目标价 | | 潜在涨幅 | | 2024 年 11 月 22 日 | | | 美元 81.63 | 美元 107.00↓ | | +31.1% | | | | 百度 | (BIDU US) | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 生成式 AI 搜索内容占比增至 20%，关注 2025 年变现进程 2024 年 3 季度业绩：收入 336 亿元（人民币，下同），同比降 3%，与我 们/彭博市场预期基本一致。调整后净利润 59 亿元，对应净利率 18%，低 于我们/彭博预期 5%，营销及管理费用同比增 2%，高于我们预期 4%，因 渠道支出和推广费用增加。 百度核心业绩要点：收入 265 亿 ...

Financial Data and Key Metrics - Baidu Core total revenue was RMB26.5 billion, flat year-over-year [7] - AI Cloud revenue grew 11% year-over-year to RMB4.9 billion, with Gen AI-related revenue accounting for 11% of total AI Cloud revenue, up from 9% in the previous quarter [26] - Baidu Core's online marketing revenue declined 4% year-over-year to RMB18.8 billion, while non-online marketing revenue increased 12% to RMB7.7 billion, driven by AI Cloud [45] - Total revenues were RMB33.6 billion, a 3% year-over-year decrease [45] - Non-GAAP operating income was RMB7 billion, with a non-GAAP operating margin of 25% for Baidu Core [50] - Net income attributable to Baidu was RMB7.6 billion, with diluted earnings per ADS of RMB21.6 [52] Business Line Performance - AI Cloud maintained double-digit growth, with Gen AI-related revenue contributing significantly to the growth [26] - Baidu App saw nearly 70% of its monthly active users engaging with generative content, with users spending more time on the platform and using more complex queries [13] - Wenku's subscription revenue grew 23% year-over-year, with AI-enabled features reaching over 50 million MAUs, a 300% year-over-year increase [20] - Apollo Go provided 988,000 rides in Q3, a 20% year-over-year increase, with cumulative rides surpassing 8 million by October [39] Market Performance - AI Cloud revenue growth was driven by strong demand for model training and inference across sectors like education, finance, and automotive [94] - Mid-tier enterprise customers increased their spending on GPU public-cloud services by 170% quarter-over-quarter [31] - The proportion of fully driverless operations nationwide surpassed 70% in Q3 and 80% in October, with 100% fully driverless operations achieved in Chongqing [38] Strategic Direction and Industry Competition - The company is focused on AI-driven innovation, particularly in transforming existing products and fostering a new ecosystem for AI applications [8] - ERNIE 4.0 Turbo achieved a 48% improvement in inference efficiency, with API calls increasing from 600 million in August to 1.5 billion in November [9][11] - The company is expanding its autonomous driving operations, with plans to explore asset-light strategies and international expansion [40][103] Management Commentary on Operating Environment and Future Outlook - Management remains confident in the long-term growth potential of AI Cloud and autonomous driving, despite near-term macroeconomic challenges [41] - The company is prioritizing user experience enhancement over immediate monetization of AI search results, with a focus on long-term value creation [64] - Management expects improvements in the advertising business next year as the AI transformation progresses [66] Other Important Information - The company has a strong cash position, with RMB144.5 billion in cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash, and short-term investments as of September 30, 2024 [54] - Baidu Core had approximately 31,000 employees as of September 30, 2024 [54] Q&A Session Summary Question: AI and Search Transformation - The company is transforming search with AI, with over 20% of search result pages containing AI-generated content and 50% of monthly active users engaging with Gen AI content [58] - Monetization of AI search is still in early stages, with encouraging results in verticals like legal, education, and B2B services [63] Question: ERNIE API Growth Drivers - ERNIE API growth is driven by reduced hallucinations, lower inference costs, and the ability to tailor models to specific needs [70] - External API calls grew 240% quarter-over-quarter in the last week of Q3, with strong adoption across sectors like education, healthcare, and legal consultation [75] Question: Advertising Demand Trends - Advertising demand remains weak, particularly among small and medium enterprises, with no notable improvement in Q4 [79] - Management remains conservatively optimistic about a recovery in advertising spending as macroeconomic conditions improve [81] Question: Business Focus and Margin Trends - The company is prioritizing AI-driven search transformation and autonomous driving, with near-term margin pressures expected [85] - Investments in AI capabilities and autonomous driving are seen as essential for long-term growth [86] Question: Cloud Business Performance - AI Cloud revenue growth moderated slightly due to a temporary impact on personal cloud revenue, but enterprise cloud revenue maintained strong momentum [92] - Gen AI-related revenue in AI Cloud has more than doubled since Q4 2023, reaching 11% of total AI Cloud revenue in Q3 2024 [91] Question: Autonomous Driving Strategy - Apollo Go has achieved significant milestones, with 8 million cumulative rides and 100% fully driverless operations in Chongqing [100] - The company is exploring international expansion and asset-light strategies for autonomous driving [103] Question: Capital Allocation and Share Buybacks - The company has maintained a steady pace of share repurchases, averaging $1 billion annually, and remains committed to delivering value to shareholders [107] - Management is focused on investing in growth opportunities, particularly in AI and autonomous driving, to drive long-term value [109] Question: ERNIE Technology Roadmap - The company plans to launch a new version of ERNIE early next year, with a focus on improving performance, accuracy, and support for diverse user needs [112] - ERNIE's development is application-driven, with a focus on addressing real-world problems and reducing hallucinations [113]

Exhibit 99.1 Baidu Announces Third Quarter 2024 Results BEIJING, China, November 21, 2024 – Baidu, Inc. (NASDAQ: BIDU and HKEX: 9888 (HKD Counter) and 89888 (RMB Counter)), ("Baidu" or the "Company"), a leading AI company with strong Internet foundation, today announced its unaudited financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2024. "Baidu Core's flattish third quarter top line reflected the ongoing weakness in our online marketing business, offset by the growth of our AI Cloud business. Our ...

Group 1 - Proactive provides fast, accessible, informative, and actionable business and finance news content to a global investment audience [2][3] - The news team covers medium and small-cap markets, as well as blue-chip companies, commodities, and broader investment stories [2][3] - Proactive's content includes insights across various sectors such as biotech, pharma, mining, natural resources, battery metals, oil and gas, crypto, and emerging technologies [3] Group 2 - Proactive is committed to adopting technology to enhance workflows and content production [4][5] - The company utilizes automation and software tools, including generative AI, while ensuring all content is edited and authored by humans [5]

Baidu Announces Third Quarter 2024 Results BEIJING, China, November 21, 2024 – Baidu, Inc. (NASDAQ: BIDU and HKEX: 9888 (HKD Counter) and 89888 (RMB Counter)), ("Baidu" or the "Company"), a leading AI company with strong Internet foundation, today announced its unaudited financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2024. "Baidu Core's flattish third quarter top line reflected the ongoing weakness in our online marketing business, offset by the growth of our AI Cloud business. Our strong AI ca ...

Baidu on Nov. 12, 2024, unveiled a pair of glasses with a built-in AI assistant, putting up a Chinese rival to the Meta Ray-Bans that have proven a rare success in AI-powered hardware.BEIJING — Chinese tech giant Baidu on Thursday posted a 3% annual drop in third-quarter revenue, nevertheless beating market expectations amid AI cloud growth. The revenue print came in at $4.78 billion for the quarter ending on Sept. 30. Net income for the period rose by 14% to $1.09 billion. Baidu noted a 12% surge in its no ...

Core Insights - Baidu's third quarter results showed a decline in total revenues, primarily due to ongoing weakness in the online marketing business, although this was partially offset by growth in the AI Cloud segment [1][7] - The company reported a stable operating margin and emphasized its commitment to an AI-focused strategy, highlighting the increasing adoption of its AI capabilities and the success of its autonomous driving service, Apollo Go [1][3] Financial Highlights - Total revenues for Q3 2024 were RMB 33.6 billion ($4.78 billion), a decrease of 3% year-over-year [7] - Operating income was RMB 5.9 billion ($844 million), with a non-GAAP operating income of RMB 7.0 billion ($999 million) [8][9] - Net income attributable to Baidu was RMB 7.6 billion ($1.09 billion), representing a 14% increase year-over-year [9] - Diluted earnings per ADS were $21.60, up 19% year-over-year [9] Operational Highlights - Baidu's AI Cloud business continued to grow, with PaddlePaddle and ERNIE developer community reaching 18.1 million members [4] - ERNIE processed approximately 1.5 billion API calls daily in November 2024, a significant increase from 600 million in August [4] - Apollo Go provided 988,000 rides in Q3 2024, a 20% increase year-over-year, with fully driverless vehicles accounting for over 70% of total rides [5] Market Position - Baidu AI Cloud was ranked as the No.1 AI cloud provider for the fifth consecutive year in IDC's 2023 report on China's AI public cloud market [4] - The Baidu App's monthly active users (MAUs) reached 704 million, a 6% increase year-over-year [6]

Baidu Inc BIDU will report its third-quarter earnings on Thursday. Wall Street expects $2.35 in earning per share and $4.69 billion in revenues as the company reports before market hours.The stock is down 22.24% over the past year, 24.97% year-to-date.Let’s look at what the charts indicate for Baidu stock and how the stock currently maps against Wall Street estimates.Read Also: Alibaba Eyes Raising $5 Billion Via Bond Sale to Fund Debt Payoff and Stock BuybacksBaidu Stock In Strongly Bearish Trend Baidu sto ...