Baidu (BIDU); HK 9888

Re: Baidu (BIDU)

Postby winston » Wed Aug 21, 2019 10:39 am

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Baidu Inc: On a diet

Baidu Inc’s (Baidu) 2Q19 results came in above expectations.

Revenue rose 1% YoY to RMB 26.3b, or 2% above consensus.

Non-GAAP operating profit fell 70% YoY, which was better than the street’s expectations due to a more modest SG&A increase, which we believe to be down to better cost control.

All in, non-GAAP PATMI came in at RMB 3.6b, or 78% above consensus.

Management remains upbeat on Baidu’s Smart Mini Program ecosystem, which they believe will generate significant ROI for customers.

Management was also sanguine about new entrants entering the search market, given the barriers to entry.

Management expects cost of revenue and opex to remain stable QoQ, which points to continued cost control against a backdrop of subdued revenue growth.

We continue to believe that the headwinds from the group’s health care initiative, macro uncertainties and softness from iQIYI’s advertising contribution could cap the upside on Baidu’s share price, following the post-results relief rally.

We derive a FV of US$113, based on our SOTP approach. HOLD.

Source: OCBC
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Re: Baidu (BIDU)

Postby winston » Wed Aug 21, 2019 2:22 pm

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Some analysts think the stock can move higher.

At least four analysts increased their target price after yesterday’s earnings report while two decreased their target.

The average target price for the next 12 months is about $143, according to 30 analysts polled by Bloomberg.

Source: Barron's
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Re: Baidu (BIDU)

Postby winston » Thu Sep 26, 2019 2:51 pm

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Baidu Plans to Unload $1 Billion in Shares of Online Travel Site

by Zheping Huang

(Bloomberg) -- Baidu Inc. is selling about a third of its stake in online travel site Ctrip.com International Ltd., generating around $1 billion to counter a slowing economy and intensifying competition in its key advertising business.

Ctrip announced Thursday a proposed secondary offering of 31.3 million American depositary shares held by Baidu. That represents around 30% of its stake in Ctrip and is equivalent to around $1 billion according to Ctrip’s current share price.

Baidu will remain Ctrip’s largest shareholder. It owned a 19% stake in the company after exchanging its shares in rival travel service provider Qunar in 2015. The share swap created China’s biggest online travel agency, putting a halt to a cash-burning price war.

The proceeds will come in handy for the Beijing-based company. “Baidu may use the cash to meet its operational needs as its near-term sales falter amid macro-economic and competitive pressures,” Bloomberg Intelligence analysts Vey-Sern Ling and Tiffany Tam wrote in a research note on Thursday.

Baidu over the past years has sold its food-delivery arm to Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.’s Ele.me, and merged its music streaming service with Chinese record label Taihe, allowing the search giant to focus on its key units such as advertising, smart speakers and autonomous cars.

More recently, the 19-year-old company has expanded its investment into content needed to attract and keep users, backing social media platforms including Q&A app Zhihu.

Source: Bloomberg

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/baidu-pl ... 31356.html
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Re: Baidu (BIDU)

Postby winston » Fri Nov 08, 2019 7:03 am

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Baidu books 27.5b yuan third quarter revenue

Baidu Inc. reported quarterly revenue that beat estimates after the Chinese search company's business proved resilient to an economic slowdown and competition from ByteDance Inc, Bloomberg reports.

Third-quarter revenue came in at 28.1 billion yuan.

That was down slightly from a year earlier, but exceeded the 27.5 billion yuan average of analysts’ projections.

The company also projected revenue of US$27.1 billion to US$28.7 billion, generally in line with estimates.

The shares jumped by about 5 percent in extended trading.

Baidu’s Netflix-style iQiyi Inc., which competes with Alibaba Group Holding and Tencent Holdings, also reported revenue ahead of expectations.

Source: The Standard

http://www.thestandard.com.hk/breaking- ... 1107&sid=2
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Re: Baidu (BIDU)

Postby winston » Fri Nov 08, 2019 9:51 am

Baidu Inc: Saying the right things

Baidu Inc’s (Baidu) 3Q19 results were above expectations.

Cost management was judicious, with non-GAAP SG&A as a proportion of revenue well controlled.

Non-GAAP PATMI of RMB 4.4b came in at 56% above consensus.

Management struck us as being incrementally more positive on the dynamics within the online marketing space, both on the demand and supply side.

In-app traffic remains robust, with search queries up 25% YoY (+20% YoY in 2Q19).

Management has guided for Baidu Core revenue to grow by 0-6% YoY, and for 4Q19 margins to be at least stable on a sequential basis.

Overall, while we are cognizant that the above do not represent a sharp reversal of Baidu’s challenges, we believe that the general stabilisation in operational metrics, industry dynamics and potential return to positive Baidu Core growth should be sufficient to mitigate large downside risks, and allow investors to refocus on Baidu’s depressed valuations.

Baidu is currently trading at 14.5x FY20 P/E (based on our estimates), or 1.6x below the 5-year mean.

Following adjustments, we raise our FV from US$113 to US$140.

Source: OCBC
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Re: Baidu (BIDU)

Postby winston » Wed Jan 01, 2020 8:52 am

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Baidu: Turnaround In Action

by WY Capital

Summary

Despite losing share in the search market, Baidu is growing share in other important areas like AI.

Financials are improving significantly, especially operating income, which has increased 5x from Q1 levels.

If the iQiyi and Trip.com stake are included, the company trades at an incredibly low valuation.

While revenue growth continues to slow, with revenue down slightly YOY, gross margins have started ticking up, rising from 51% to 59% sequentially.

In smart speakers, Baidu became Number 2 in the world in terms of shipments.


It has a $9bil stake in iQiyi, a $2.5bil stake in Trip.com, as well as $2.4bil in cash, meaning its core business is worth around $30bil, or around 10x estimated recurring earnings after short term problems fade.


Source: Seeking Alpha

https://seekingalpha.com/article/431459 ... king_alpha
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Re: Baidu (BIDU)

Postby winston » Sat Jan 11, 2020 10:00 pm

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Top Analyst Pick #1: Baidu (BIDU)

Shares of the Chinese internet giant slid 16 percent in the past year, far underperforming U.S. stocks and tech. But with an end to the trade war in sight, this looks like a top buy now.

We’re not alone in that assessment. One of Bank of America’s top analysts sees further improvements to the company as they improve targeting and engagement with their massive amounts of mobile traffic.

With China’s massive market, even a 1 percent improvement in the process could create billions of dollars in value for Baidu.

With mobile app queries rising 25 percent in the past year, there’s a lot of growth going on, but far more to go.

Users are also increasing the amount of time they’re spending on the app, which in turn leads to better ways to monetize the product.

With shares trading at less than 20 times forward earnings, this looks like a more attractive buy compared to its U.S. counterpart, Google, which is a bit more expensive.

As both companies dominate the search engine space in their respective countries, Baidu is the better play for higher expected returns in 2020.

We like shares up to $140.00. That’s nearly half off the company’s old highs set in early 2018 close to $270 per share. Of course, there’s no dividend, but the share price, like many other Chinese stocks, has already started to move higher in recent weeks as trade war fears have vanished.

Speculators can do even better with the current uptrend in shares with an option instead. The January 2021 $150 call options, which have a year to play out, look like a great bet here.

If shares head back to just the $200 range, the option could double or better—but traders could also buy now and get out with a shorter-term profit as shares get into the high $100 range in the next few weeks.

Source: Trading Tips
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Re: Baidu (BIDU)

Postby winston » Thu Feb 06, 2020 8:50 am

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Baidu is bottoming out

Baidu, which owns China’s largest search engine and third-largest digital advertising business, lost nearly 30% of its market value over the past 12 months as its core advertising business hit a brick wall.

Tough competition from Gen Z-oriented rivals such as ByteDance and the sluggish Chinese economy caused its ad revenue to slide year over year over the past two quarters.

Baidu relied on the growth of streaming video platform iQiyi (NASDAQ:IQ) to offset that slowdown, but the unit’s losses throttled its earnings growth. Baidu exacerbated that pressure by ramping up its spending on the expansion of its ecosystem beyond PCs and mobile devices.

However, Baidu recently raised the midpoint of its fourth-quarter guidance from 2.6% annual growth to 5.1% growth. It now expects Baidu Core’s revenue to rise 4% to 6% annually, compared to its prior forecast for 0% to 6% growth, and it expects the midpoint of its non-GAAP net income to nearly double, with 50% to 55% non-GAAP net income growth at its core businesses.

That forecast indicates that brighter days are ahead and that the expansion of its ecosystem via speakers, voice searches, and mini-programs on its mobile app is paying off.

Baidu also allayed some concerns about the coronavirus, noting that its employees would work from home in an extended Chinese New Year holiday and that it would delay its earnings release to Feb. 27.

Baidu still faces an uphill battle in 2020, but its stock is historically cheap at 17 times forward earnings and could rally after its earnings report.

Source: Motley Fool
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Re: Baidu (BIDU)

Postby winston » Mon Mar 02, 2020 1:14 pm

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Baidu Inc: Looking past the virus

Baidu Inc’s (Baidu) 4Q19 results came in above expectations.

Non-GAAP EPADS grew 98% YoY to $26.54, or 4% above consensus.

Management guided that Baidu Core revenue in 1Q20 should decline between 10% and 18% YoY.

Over the last two weeks, there have already been some signs of activity pick-up, and Baidu’s guidance assumes an even faster WoW growth from now until the end of 1Q20.

Encouragingly, management has shared that CPM has been trending up nicely into Q4 prior to the virus outbreak, which suggest better advertiser demand amid industry inventory growth moderation.

TAC cost in Q4 was also down, which is a reflection of the increasing shift of consumer behaviour from browser to in-app search due to its convenience.

Other operational metrics were also healthy, as in-app search queries rose 30% YoY, while Baidu mobile app DAU reached 195m, up 21% YoY.

Management believes that the majority of industries that advertise on its platform are merely postponing their ad demand, and this should return after the epidemic.

We maintain our BUY rating and FV of US$140 for now.

Source: OCBC
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Re: Baidu (BIDU)

Postby winston » Mon Aug 17, 2020 11:38 am

Baidu Inc (BIDU US) - Keeping it lean while waiting for the recovery

Baidu’s 2Q20 revenue dropped 1% YoY to RMB 26.0b, which came in at the midpoint of management’s previous guidance range (-5% to 4% YoY).

Non-GAAP PATMI came in at RMB 5.1b, rising 40% YoY or 55% higher than consensus.

Management has guided for revenue to come in at -6% to 2% YoY, or RMB 27.5b at the midpoint, which is in-line with consensus.

Management has noted that 2Q saw weaknesses in certain verticals like healthcare and autos, but observes meaningful recovery in verticals like healthcare, franchising, and real estate.

On the call, management shared that the pronounced improvement in margins arising from cost savings is a result of their prior commitment to review and make high-ROI investments, and we believe judicious cost control can continue into 2H20, but at the same time scaling in accordance to any increasing economic activity in China.

Baidu Manage Page now contributes to 30% of Baidu Core’s online marketing services revenue, as merchants with HTML5 websites across many industries are switching over.

We note that the Baidu APP DAU has seen a QoQ decline to 204m in June 2020 (from 222m in Mar), but management has attributed this to the normalisation of activity (in June vs Mar), and is currently adding more content, features and services to the app to increase engagement.

Following adjustments, our FV drops slightly from US$140 to US$138. Maintain BUY.

Source: OCBC
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