Core Insights - Baidu, Inc reported fiscal fourth-quarter revenue of $4.68 billion, a 2% year-on-year decline, but exceeded analyst consensus estimates of $4.56 billion [1] - Adjusted earnings per ADS were $2.63, surpassing the analyst consensus estimate of $1.78 [1] - The stock price experienced a decline following the earnings report [1] Revenue Breakdown - Core revenue increased by 1% year over year to $3.8 billion [1] - Online marketing revenue fell by 7% year over year to $2.46 billion [1] - Non-online marketing revenue rose by 18% year over year to $1.34 billion, driven by the AI Cloud business, which grew by 26% during the quarter [2] Expense and Profitability Metrics - SG&A expenses were $915 million, up 14% year over year, attributed to increased expected credit losses, channel spending, and promotional marketing expenses [3] - R&D expenses decreased by 12% year over year to $756 million [3] - Adjusted EBITDA margin declined by 600 basis points to 20%, while Core adjusted EBITDA margin also decreased by 600 basis points to 24% [3] - As of December 31, 2024, Baidu had $19.1 billion in cash and equivalents and generated $3 million in free cash flow during the quarter [3] Strategic Direction - CEO Robin Li indicated that 2024 is a pivotal year for Baidu's transformation from an internet-centric to an AI-first business, with AI Cloud gaining momentum [4] - The company is advancing its AI transformation in the Mobile Ecosystem, with Apollo Go facilitating global expansion and scalable strategies [4] - Li anticipates that AI investments will yield more significant results in 2025 [4] Market Performance - Baidu's stock declined 8% over the last 12 months, as its AI models struggled to gain traction [5] - The company plans to launch Ernie 5.0 in late 2025 and will offer Ernie Bot free to all users [5] - Baidu is a key partner for Apple Inc as it aims to integrate AI features into its iPhones for the Chinese market [5] - BIDU stock traded lower by 2.29% at $95.25 in premarket trading following the report [5]

Core Insights - Baidu is transitioning from an internet-centric model to an AI-first business, with significant growth in its AI Cloud segment and advancements in its Mobile Ecosystem [2][3] - The company anticipates that its AI investments will yield substantial results in 2025, following a year of strategic validation [2] Financial Highlights for Q4 2024 - Total revenues for Q4 2024 were RMB 34.1 billion ($4.68 billion), a decrease of 2% year over year [3][7] - Operating income was RMB 3.9 billion ($537 million), down 27% from the previous year [3][11] - Net income attributable to Baidu was RMB 5.2 billion ($711 million), reflecting a 100% increase year over year [3][14] - Diluted earnings per ADS were RMB 14.26 ($1.95), up 111% year over year [3][14] - Adjusted EBITDA was RMB 7.0 billion ($953 million), with an adjusted EBITDA margin of 20% [3][15] Financial Highlights for Fiscal Year 2024 - Total revenues for FY 2024 were RMB 133.1 billion ($18.24 billion), a decrease of 1% year over year [17] - Operating income for FY 2024 was RMB 21.3 billion ($2.91 billion) [19] - Net income attributable to Baidu for FY 2024 was RMB 23.8 billion ($3.26 billion), with diluted earnings per ADS of RMB 65.91 ($9.03) [21] - Adjusted EBITDA for FY 2024 was RMB 33.1 billion ($4.53 billion), with an adjusted EBITDA margin of 25% [22] Operational Highlights - Baidu returned $356 million to shareholders since Q4 2024, totaling over $1 billion in repurchases since 2024 [6] - ERNIE, Baidu's AI model, handled approximately 1.65 billion API calls daily in December 2024, with a 178% increase in external API calls quarter over quarter [6] - Apollo Go, Baidu's autonomous ride-hailing service, provided over 1.1 million rides in Q4 2024, marking a 36% year-over-year increase [6] Segment Performance - Revenue from Baidu Core was RMB 27.7 billion ($3.80 billion) in Q4 2024, a 1% increase year over year [24] - Online marketing revenue decreased by 7% year over year to RMB 17.9 billion ($2.46 billion), while non-online marketing revenue increased by 18% year over year to RMB 9.8 billion ($1.34 billion) [24] - Revenue from iQIYI was RMB 6.6 billion ($906 million), down 14% year over year [24]

Group 1 - Baidu Inc. closed at $97.48, marking a +0.92% move from the prior day, outperforming the S&P 500 which lost 0.01% [1] - Over the past month, Baidu's shares gained 19.65%, significantly outpacing the Computer and Technology sector's gain of 3.65% and the S&P 500's gain of 4.88% [1] Group 2 - Baidu is scheduled to release its earnings report on February 18, 2025, with an expected EPS of $1.78, indicating a 42.21% decline compared to the same quarter last year [2] - The consensus estimate anticipates revenue of $4.56 billion, reflecting a 7.31% decrease from the same quarter last year [2] Group 3 - Recent changes to analyst estimates for Baidu reflect short-term business trends, with positive revisions indicating optimism about the company's outlook [3] - The Zacks Rank system, which includes estimate changes, has a track record of success, with 1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988 [4][5] Group 4 - Baidu currently has a Zacks Rank of 4 (Sell), with the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate shifting 1.74% downward over the past month [5] - Baidu is trading with a Forward P/E ratio of 10.47, which is a discount compared to the industry's average Forward P/E of 24.04 [6] Group 5 - The Internet - Services industry, which includes Baidu, has a Zacks Industry Rank of 82, placing it in the top 33% of all industries [7] - The Zacks Industry Rank assesses the strength of industry groups, showing that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1 [7]

Baidu, Inc. (BIDU) is scheduled to report fourth-quarter 2024 results on Feb. 18.The Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenues is pegged at $4.56 billion, indicating a decline of 7.31% from the year-ago quarter’s reported figure.The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings is pegged at $1.73 per share, suggesting a 42.2% fall from the prior-year quarter’s reported figure. The estimated figure has moved south by 12.3% over the past 30 days.Find the latest EPS estimates and surprises on Zacks Earnings Calendar.BIDU’ ...

Baidu's ChatGPT-like Ernie Chatbot will be free for users from April 1.CFOTO/Future Publishing via Getty ImagesShares in Chinese search giant Baidu surged as much as 11.7% in Hong Kong on Thursday after it announced it will make its AI chatbot free of charge starting April 1.Listed on both the Nasdaq and in Hong Kong, the company said users will have free access to the Ernie Bot thanks to continued technological upgrades and lowered costs, according to a Thursday press statement. Fees will no longer be char ...

Core Insights - Baidu plans to release its next-generation AI model, Ernie 5.0, in the second half of the year, amid increasing competition from new players like DeepSeek [1][3] - Ernie 5.0 will feature significant enhancements in multimodal capabilities, allowing it to process and convert various types of media, including text, video, images, and audio [2] - The AI landscape in China is rapidly evolving, with companies striving to innovate and compete against established U.S. firms like OpenAI [3] Company Developments - Baidu's CEO, Robin Li, highlighted that the inference cost of foundation models could be reduced by over 90% within a year, indicating a potential for increased productivity through cost reduction [4][5] - Baidu was the first major Chinese tech company to launch a ChatGPT-like chatbot, Ernie, in March 2023, but it has since faced stiff competition from other AI chatbots developed by startups and larger companies like Alibaba and ByteDance [5] - Year-to-date stock performance shows Baidu's shares have increased by 6%, while Alibaba's shares have surged by 33%, and Tencent's by approximately 4% [6]

SINGAPORE, Feb. 11, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Trip.com Group Limited (Nasdaq: TCOM; HKEX: 9961) ("Trip.com Group" or the "Company"), a leading one-stop travel service provider of accommodation reservation, transportation ticketing, packaged tours, and corporate travel management, today announced that Mr. Junjie He, a director nominated by Baidu Inc. (Nasdaq: BIDU; HKEX: 9888) ("Baidu"), has tendered his resignation as a director of the Company, effective on February 11, 2025, and that Mr. Rong Luo, the executive ...

BofA Securities analyst Justin Post maintained a Buy rating on Alphabet Inc GOOG GOOGL Google with a price target of $225.Statcounter January data indicates that Google’s global search share was up 5bps month-on-month (down 169bps year-on-year) to 89.8%, while Bing’s share was down 4bps M/M (up 51bps Y/Y) to 3.9%. Others (which include Yandex, Baidu Inc BIDU, and Naver, but not ChatGPT) were up 1bps M/M (up 101bps Y/Y) to 5.0%.Also Read: Monday.com Beats Q4 Earnings Estimates, Boasts 32% Revenue Growth: CEO ...

Baidu Inc. (BIDU) closed the latest trading day at $88.81, indicating a +0.2% change from the previous session's end. This change lagged the S&P 500's 0.36% gain on the day. Elsewhere, the Dow lost 0.28%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 0.51%.The web search company's stock has climbed by 8.96% in the past month, exceeding the Computer and Technology sector's of 0% and the S&P 500's gain of 2.11%.The investment community will be paying close attention to the earnings performance of Baidu Inc. in its upcomi ...

If you'd like to learn more about how to best position yourself in under valued stocks mispriced by the market to start February, consider joining Out Fox The Street .Baidu, Inc. (NASDAQ: BIDU ) is still working to hold historical support at $80 while the Chinese company develops promising technology for robotaxis and generative AI services. The business has struggled to produce growth in the last year leading to the weakMark leads the investing group Out Fox The Street where he shares stock picks and deep ...