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Baidu First-Quarter Results Top Street Views

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Baidu First-Quarter Results Top Street Views

Baidu (BIDU) reported better-than-expected first-quarter results on Monday buoyed by growth in the Chinese technology company's core artificial intelligence-powered business.

The firm, which specializes in AI and internet-related services, posted adjusted earnings of 12.06 renminbi ($1.75) per American depositary share for the March quarter, down from 18.54 renminbi the year before. The consensus on FactSet was for non-GAAP EPS of 11.54 renminbi.

Total revenue came in at 32.08 billion renminbi, lower than the 32.45 billion renminbi recorded in the prior-year quarter, but ahead of the Street's view for 31.34 billion renminbi. The company's Nasdaq-listed American depositary receipts rose 4.9% in the most recent premarket activity.

Revenue from the Baidu core AI-powered business jumped 49% to 13.6 billion renminbi, including a 79% surge in the AI cloud infra division, "powered by surging enterprise demand," Chief Executive Robin Li said in a statement. Revenue from AI applications was flat year over year, while AI-native marketing services logged a 36% gain.

"In (the first quarter), our core AI-powered business exceeded half of Baidu general business revenue for the first time, marking a clear signal that AI has become the core driver of Baidu," Li said. "Our AI applications continued to gain traction across enterprises and individuals alike, further validating the commercial potential of our AI innovations."

The general business unit saw a 2% increase in revenue to 26 billion renminbi.

Baidu said its autonomous ride-hailing service, Apollo Go, delivered 3.2 million fully driverless operational rides with weekly rides peaking at more than 350,000 in March. Total rides increased by over 120% on a yearly basis, the company added.

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