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• Total Revenue (Q4 2024): RMB34.1 billion, a decrease of 2% year over year.

• Total Revenue (Full Year 2024): RMB133.1 billion, a decrease of 1% year over year.

• Baidu Core Revenue (Q4 2024): RMB27.7 billion, an increase of 1% year over year.

• Baidu Core Revenue (Full Year 2024): RMB104.7 billion, an increase of 1% year over year.

• AI Cloud Revenue (Q4 2024): RMB7.1 billion, a year-over-year increase of 26%.

• iQIYI Revenue (Q4 2024): RMB6.6 billion, a decrease of 14% year over year.

• Operating Income (Q4 2024): RMB3.9 billion, compared to RMB5.4 billion in the same period last year.

• Net Income Attributable to Baidu (Q4 2024): RMB5.2 billion.

• Non-GAAP Net Income Attributable to Baidu (Q4 2024): RMB6.7 billion.

• Cash, Cash Equivalents, and Short-term Investments (Dec 31, 2024): RMB139.1 billion.

• Free Cash Flow (2024): RMB13.1 billion.

• Employee Count (Dec 31, 2024): Approximately 31,000 employees.

• Warning! GuruFocus has detected 3 Warning Sign with BIDU.

Release Date: February 18, 2025

For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript.

Positive Points

• Baidu Inc (NASDAQ:BIDU) reported a slight year-over-year increase in core total revenue for Q4, reaching RMB27.7 billion.

• AI Cloud revenue grew by 26% year over year, demonstrating robust momentum and contributing significantly to the company's growth.

• The company has made strategic investments in AI, with ERNIE showing industry-leading capabilities and driving widespread adoption across various sectors.

• Baidu's autonomous ride-hailing service, Apollo Go, has proven its business model's viability, with a 36% year-over-year growth in rides and successful expansion into new markets like Hong Kong.

• Baidu Wenku's subscription revenue grew by 21% year over year, with AI-enabled features significantly increasing user engagement.

Negative Points

• Total revenues for Q4 decreased by 2% year over year, and full-year 2024 revenues decreased by 1% year over year.

• Baidu Core's online marketing revenue decreased by 7% year over year in Q4, reflecting challenges in the advertising sector.

• Revenue from iQIYI decreased by 14% year over year in Q4, indicating struggles in the entertainment segment.

• Operating income for Q4 decreased compared to the same period last year, impacted by one-time losses including credit losses and inventory write-downs.

• The company faces a challenging competitive landscape in the advertising business, with no significant improvements seen in Q4 despite macroeconomic easing measures.

Q & A Highlights

Q: Could management share the strategic thinking behind open sourcing the upcoming ERNIE 4.5 series and making ERNIE Bot free? How does Baidu plan to stay ahead in the competitive landscape of foundation models? A: Robin Yanhong Li, CEO, explained that open sourcing ERNIE 4.5 is intended to drive broader adoption by allowing users to try the model easily. Baidu's confidence in its technology leadership, backed by extensive R&D investment and AI capabilities, supports this decision. The move aims to showcase ERNIE's value and expand its impact across various scenarios. Baidu plans to continue evolving ERNIE to address real-world problems effectively.