Baidu (BIDU), HK 9888; 02 (Nov 22 - Dec 26)

[winston]

vested

BIDU-SW (09888.HK) Wang Yunpeng: Apollo Go's Target is Achieving Turnaround to Profit

BIDU-SW (09888.HK) (BIDU.US) launched its autonomous driving platform Apollo Go in 2017.

Wang Yunpeng, Group Vice President and President of Intelligent Driving Business Group, wrote in an internal letter that Apollo Go is seeing a ray of hope in its 7th anniversary.

Considering that L2+ high-end intelligent assisted driving has entered a new stage of large-scale application, Wang said Apollo Go's future goal is to achieve a positive gross profit, rationalise its business model and move towards the target of 100 million kilometres of total mileage of testing and operation of automated driving, as well as to achieve a revenue and profit of RMB100 million.

Related News: BOCOMI Cuts BIDU-SW (09888.HK) TP to HK$131; ST Demand Weakness May Weigh on Rev. Growth

According to official data, Apollo Go's total self-driving test and operation mileage has exceeded 90 million kilometres, and is growing by more than 100,000 kilometres per day.

Source: AAStocks Financial News

http://www.aastocks.com/en/stocks/news/ ... -news/AAFN

[behappyalways]

Baidu's market value evaporated by 30 billion overnight!
"If you resign, I'll approve it in seconds."
The cold-blooded video of the vice president went viral
百度市值一夜蒸發300億!「你辭職 我秒批」副總裁冷血影音瘋傳｜TVBS新聞
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Onbmac4DbSc


If you resign, I'll approve it instantly!"
Baidu's vice president, the "female wolf warrior," is in trouble!
Her private behavior is exposed.
It is reported on the Internet that Baidu's vice president "beats villains to vent his anger."
你辭職我秒批"! 百度副總"女戰狼"遭炎上! 私下為人被看光 網傳百度副總"打小人洩憤"｜【國際大現場】20240509｜三立新聞台
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=I26FkMuOLPM

[winston]

vested

<Research>CLSA Forecasts Baidu (BIDU.US) 1Q24 Core Rev. Growth to Slow to 3%, w/ 3% Drop in Adj. EBIT

CLSA forecasted in a report that BIDU-SW (09888.HK) (BIDU.US) would report slower core revenue growth of 3% YoY to RMB23.7 billion in 1Q24, while adjusted EBIT is forecast to fall 3% YoY to RMB5.2 billion, mainly due to the weakening macroeconomy.

Demand for advertising in the healthcare, travel and e-commerce sectors remained strong, while demand for advertising in the property, automotive and franchising sectors was weak.

The broker believed that Baidu's macro headwinds are likely to be offset by progressively higher generative AI (GenAI) revenues.

Following the group's mapping cooperation agreement with Tesla (TSLA.US), the broker believed that it has the potential to become a potential GenAI partner for Apple (AAPL.US) .

CLSA considered Baidu's current valuation to still be relatively low. The broker maintained a target price of US$158 on Baidu's US shares, with a Buy rating.

Source: AAStocks Financial News

http://www.aastocks.com/en/stocks/news/ ... -news/AAFN

[winston]

vested

<Results>BIDU-SW 1Q24 Non-GAAP NP Rises 22.4%, Beats; US Stock Leaps ~3% in Pre-mkt Session

BIDU-SW (09888.HK) (BIDU.US) released its 1Q24 results ended March 2024.

Net income attributable to BIDU-SW fell 6.5% YoY to RMB5.448 billion, still above the upper limit of the range of RMB3.977 billion to RMB4.522 billion as forecasted by 5 brokers summarized by our reporters.

Earnings per ordinary shares were RMB1.87, while earnings per ADS were RMB14.97.

Related News: CLSA Forecasts Baidu (BIDU.US) 1Q24 Core Rev. Growth to Slow to 3%, w/ 3% Drop in Adj. EBIT

Non-GAAP net income attributable to BIDU-SW reached RMB7.011 billion, up 22.4% YoY, significantly higher than the upper limit of the range of RMB5.375 billion to RMB5.966 billion as predicted by 8 brokers summarized by our reporters.

Source: AAStocks Financial News

http://www.aastocks.com/en/stocks/news/ ... -news/AAFN

[winston]

Baidu Inc (9888 HK)
1Q24: Earnings Beat; Subdued Ad Revenue Growth Stemming From Soft Macro

Baidu’s 1Q24 results were within expectations.

Revenue grew 1% yoy to Rmb31.5b, in line with consensus estimates.

Gross margin remained flattish yoy at 51.5%, within consensus expectations.

Non-GAAP operating profit was Rmb6.7b, up 4% yoy, while non-GAAP operating profit margin came in at 21%.

Non-GAAP net profit improved by 22% yoy to Rmb7b on one-off gains, exceeding consensus estimates by 26%.

Maintain BUY with a lower target price of HK$126.00 (US$140.00).

Source: UOBKH

https://research.uobkayhian.com/content ... e=hs_email

[winston]

vested

Broker│ Opinion

Jefferies│ The potential of AI unleashed in various aspects

JPMorgan│ Revenue contribution from AI monetization is yet to be seen, but core profitability had positive surprises

Citi│ Generative AI gradually contributing to revenue growth, but search ads were still weak

BOCI│Quarterly earnings beat expectations, and AI drove sustainable growth

UBS│Profitability beat expectations, but advertising outlook was weak

CLSA│Online market revenue weakened, and cloud revenue growth accelerate

Goldman Sachs│Cloud business improvement offset short-term advertising weakness, and generative AI contribution will increase in the future

Daiwa│Macro headwinds persisted

BofA Securities│Search shifted to, with accelerated cloud growth and still healthy profitability

Nomura│Quarterly revenue was in line with expectations, and earnings beat estimations

Morgan Stanley│Weak growth in advertising will continue for longer

Source: AAStocks Financial News

http://www.aastocks.com/en/stocks/news/ ... -news/AAFN

[winston]

not vested

<Research>G Sachs Trims BIDU-SW (09888.HK) TP to $150 as 1Q Earnings Beat

BIDU-SW (09888.HK) (BIDU.US) 1Q24 revenue was in line with expectations, while its EBIT and net profit even beat expectations, mainly due to higher contribution from generative AI under business restructuring and recovery in deferred revenue from traditional advertising business, Goldman Sachs released a research report saying.

BIDU-SW's management expects the cloud computing business to accelerate growth, and operating margin to remain stable due to strong growth in demand for GPU cloud and enhanced deployment of generative AI with smartphone OEMs, Goldman Sachs said.

Related News: Citi Reduces TP of Baidu (BIDU.US) to US$170; Gen AI Brings Incremental Rev. but Search Ads Still Weak

Goldman Sachs believed that the risk return level of BIDU-SW is currently favorable. Although the recovery prospect of its core advertising business lacks visibility, the accelerating growth in its cloud computing business and the increasing contribution of AI-related revenues could lead the Group to a slow but sure revenue recovery path.

Based on its latest valuation expectation, Goldman Sachs trimmed its target price on BIDU-SW from $157 to $150, with rating kept at Buy.

Source: AAStocks Financial News

http://www.aastocks.com/en/stocks/news/ ... -news/AAFN

[behappyalways]

Stop when the light is green, go when the light is red!
It will get stuck when turning.
Baidu’s 6th generation driverless car was criticized as a “mobile roadblock”

綠燈停.紅燈行!轉彎還會卡住 百度第6代無人車挨批「移動路障」｜TVBS新聞

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=RMJV2a8BEqM

[winston]

vested

Baidu Inc (9888 HK)
Encouraging Visibility In The Deployment And Monetisation Of Apollo Go

We opine that Baidu’s autonomous driving business is poised for profitability upon viable commercialisation.

Wuhan has become the focal point of Baidu Apollo’s driverless car operations.

1,000 Apollo Go driverless taxis have been deployed here, with peak daily orders per vehicle exceeding 20.

We believe Baidu’s outlook will be boosted by the integration of LLM which will foster monetisation of online ads and autonomous driving.

Maintain BUY with a target price of HK$126.00 (US$140.00).

Source: UOBKH

https://research.uobkayhian.com/content ... e=hs_email

[winston]

vested

<Research>TF Securities: BIDU-SW ST Rev. May be Pressed by AI Upgrade, Rating Kept Buy

BIDU-SW (09888.HK) reported 1Q core revenue of RMB23.8 billion, up 3.5% YoY, with online marketing revenue of RMB17.1 billion, up 3% YoY, mainly due to weaker-than-expected macro-economic recovery and limited visibility of advertisers' improvement, TF Securities said in its report.

The broker expected online marketing revenue growth to remain stable in the coming quarters.

The report said Baidu's resilient quarterly performance may reflect operational resilience in a complex macroeconomic environment, as well as the solid development of its AI business, ERNIE Bot.

The broker expected that Baidu's short-term revenue may be squeezed by the AI upgrade, and therefore adjusted its 2024-26 revenue forecast to RMB138.9 billion, RMB153.2 billion and RMB170.3 billion, vs RMB139.4 billion, RMB153.8 billion and RMB171.2 billion.

The broker also adjusted its 2024-26 non-GAAP operating profit to RMB28 billion, RMB32 billion and RMB35.5 billion, vs RMB27.9 billion, RMB32.1 billion and RMB35.7 billion in previous values, respectively.

The broker gave BIDU-SW a target price of HKD139 and maintained a Buy rating.

Source: AAStocks Financial News

http://www.aastocks.com/en/stocks/news/ ... -news/AAFN