Baidu (BIDU); HK 9888

[winston]

vested

Baidu's (9888) adjusted net profit slid by 10 percent to 3.88 billion yuan in the first three months but was well above the estimate of 1.77 billion yuan

Revenue rose 1 percent to 28.41 billion yuan, the slowest growth in six quarters, but topped an analysts' average estimate of 27.82 billion yuan.

Sales for Baidu Core, which provides mainly online marketing services and products from its AI initiatives, rose 4 percent to 21.38 billion yuan

Sales from Baidu AI cloud, its public cloud service and one of the company's fastest-growing units, jumped 45 percent.

Source: The Standard

https://www.thestandard.com.hk/section- ... sales-jump

[winston]

not vested

Brokers│Views

DBS│beats consensus on cost control; rev growth driven by persistent cloud, AI biz resilience

JPMorgan│eyes on profit margin sustainability, core ads rev outlook next few quarters

Citigroup│1Q rev, earnings beat

UBS│1Q ads rev, profitability beat

Nomura│rev growth beat driven by proper cost control

Source: AAStocks Financial News

[winston]

not vested

Baidu Inc (BIDU US / 9888 HK) - Headwinds well understood; judicious cost management while awaiting macro recovery

Baidu’s 1QFY22 scorecard came in above expectations.

Revenue grew 1% year-on-year (YoY) to CNY28.4b, which was 2% above street.

Non-GAAP net income fell 10% YoY to CNY3.9b, which was significantly above consensus at CNY1.8b – we attribute this mainly to solid expense control especially in SG&A.

Management noted that Covid-19 has negatively impacted the business since mid-Mar, specifically its ad business and delayed the implementation of some cloud projects.

Given the macroeconomic uncertainties, management will be increasingly disciplined with spending and investment, which we believe will be supportive towards 2QFY22 Baidu core operating profit margin (OPM).

While Baidu AI Cloud is still loss-making at the operational level, management shared that it strives to standardise products and solutions after gaining sufficient experience in specific industries to further scale the business.

Separately on Intelligent Driving, management noted that its total projected cumulative sales of auto solutions rose from ~CNY8b (4QFY21) to more than CNY10b (1QFY22).

In our view, headwinds for 2QFY22 are well understood by the market, and we believe management is likely to be able to demonstrate judicious cost control, as it did in 1QFY22.

Should macro conditions improve in 2HFY22, we expect Baidu to likewise benefit from it.

We believe the near-term headwinds from lockdowns are unlikely to impact Baidu’s ability to progress in its Cloud efforts over the longer term, as well as its AI driving business.

Still, given macro uncertainties, we believe it would be prudent to incorporate more conservative assumptions, which consequently brings our FV down from USD236 to USD194 / HKD229 to HKD188. BUY.

Source: OCBC

[behappyalways]

Chinese tech giant Baidu to release self-driving car in 2023
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=RY3iv6rfZ1U

[behappyalways]

China's Baidu unveils its latest autonomous vehicle, steering wheel optional
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=bC5ItyrOeEk&t=1s

[winston]

by behappyalways:-

China's Baidu unveils its latest autonomous vehicle, steering wheel optional

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=bC5ItyrOeEk&t=1s

[winston]

not vested

BIDU-SW Robin Li: 'Radish Kuaipao' Cumulative Orders Exceed 1M

2022/07/21

BIDU-SW (09888.HK)'s founder, chairman and CEO Robin Li expressed that, at the moment, the group's self-driving travel service Radish Kuaipao has already been launched in ten cities, accumulating more than 1 million orders so far.

Li added that an intelligent transport system could enhance transportation efficiency by 15-30% and reduce the risk of traffic accidents by 90%.

Source: AAStocks Financial News

[winston]

not vested

BIDU-SW Unveils 6th Mass-production Unmanned Vehicle Apollo RT6, Expected to Launch Next Yr

2022/07/21

BIDU-SW (09888.HK) convened the "2022 Baidu World Conference", during which Li Zhenyu, the group's senior vice president and general manager of intelligent driving business group, expressed that BIDU-SW's autonomous driving arm Apollo, will unveil the sixth generation of mass-production unmanned vehicle Apollo RT6, which is expected to be launched and used in the group's autonomous-driving mobility service platform "Luobo Kuaipao" in 2023.

Source: AAStocks Financial News

[winston]

vested

Daiwa Slashes BIDU-SW (09888.HK) TP to $205, Foresees 2Q Core Rev. to Fall 4.8%

In light of the enervated advertising market, the 2022E revenue of BIDU-SW (09888.HK) was slashed by 2%, reported Daiwa.

Excluding the electric vehicle sales, the broker chopped the 2023-24E revenue by 7-8%.

The target price for the stock was reduced from $210 to $205, with its rating restated at Buy.

The 2Q22 core revenue of BIDU-SW was anticipated to erode 4.8% YoY to RMB22.9 billion, dragged down by the weak online marketing business with an 11.5% YoY contraction in relevant revenue, the broker added.

Source: AAStocks Financial News

[winston]

not vested

Baidu to roll out 800,000 robot cars

by Aiden He

Baidu's (9888) electric vehicle firm Jidu Auto aims to deliver 800,000 of its "robot" cars in 2028, Jidu chief executive Joe Xia Yiping said.

Jidu also plans to deliver its second model for mass production in 2024, Xia said.

Baidu has won approval to deploy the first fully autonomous self-driving taxis on China's roads, giving it an edge over rivals like Pony.ai and XPeng (9868).

The tech giant has secured permits to operate the robotaxis in Wuhan and Chongqing. The move marks a relaxation of Chinese rules, which previously mandated someone must be in the vehicle to take control in case of an emergency.

Source: The Standard

https://www.thestandard.com.hk/section- ... robot-cars