Baidu's Revenue Climbs 6%, Outperforming Market Predictions Amid AI Advancements

Baidu, Inc (NASDAQ: BIDU) reported a fourth-quarter fiscal 2023 revenue growth of 6% year-on-year to $4.92 billion, beating the consensus of $4.86 billion. 

Baidu’s adjusted earnings per ADS of $3.08 beat the consensus of $2.48.

Segments: Baidu’s Core revenue increased 7% Y/Y to $3.87 billion; Online marketing revenue improved 6% Y/Y to $2.70 billion. Non-online marketing revenue grew 9% Y/Y to $1.17 billion, driven by AI Cloud business. 

Revenue from IQIYI, Inc IQ increased 2% Y/Y to $1.09 billion, beating the consensus of $1.07 billion. 

iQIYI’s average daily number of total subscribing members reached 100.3 million versus 111.6 million a year ago. 

Baidu’s SG&A expenses remained flat Y/Y at $825 million. R&D expenses grew 11% Y/Y, primarily due to the rise in server depreciation and server custody fees supporting ERNIE Bot research inputs.  

Baidu’s adjusted EBITDA margin expanded by 100 bps to 26%. Baidu’s Core adjusted EBITDA margin extended by 200 bps to 30%.

Baidu held $28.9 billion in cash and equivalents as of December 31, 2023, and generated $980 million in free cash flow. 

“Baidu Core reported another solid quarter,” said Robin Li, Co-founder and CEO of Baidu. “Throughout 2023, we made significant strides in advancing ERNIE and ERNIE Bot, reinventing our products and services, and achieving breakthroughs in monetization.”

Price Action: BIDU shares traded lower by 1.68% at $110.47 in the premarket session on the last check Wednesday.

Baidu Photo by testing on Shutterstock