The earnings call highlighted Baidu's strong performance in AI innovations and autonomous driving, with significant improvements in ERNIE and cloud revenue growth. However, these positives were offset by overall revenue decline and macroeconomic challenges affecting core advertising business, resulting in a balanced outlook.

Company Guidance

During Baidu's Q3 2024 earnings call, the company provided several key metrics and guidance regarding its performance and strategic focus. Baidu's total revenue was reported at RMB 33.6 billion, with Baidu Core contributing RMB 26.5 billion, remaining flat year-over-year. The AI cloud revenue showed an 11% year-over-year growth, reaching RMB 4.9 billion. The company's non-GAAP operating profit margin for Baidu Core stood at 25%. Baidu also highlighted its AI-driven transformation efforts, particularly with its ERNIE models, noting that ERNIE handled approximately 1.5 billion API calls daily in November, up from 600 million in August, showcasing strong market adoption. ERNIE's enhanced capabilities have led to diverse applications, resulting in a significant increase in API calls and token generation. The company emphasized its commitment to AI innovation, with advancements in its AI infrastructure and a focus on expanding AI capabilities across its product lines. Additionally, Baidu's autonomous driving service, Apollo Go, provided approximately 988,000 rides in the third quarter, marking a 20% year-over-year increase. The company remains cautiously optimistic about macroeconomic conditions and anticipates improvements in its advertising business next year, driven by its strategic emphasis on AI.

AI Cloud Revenue Growth

AI cloud revenue reached RMB 4.9 billion in Q3, maintaining a double-digit year-over-year increase at 11%, driven by Gen AI-related revenue.

ERNIE Model Enhancements

ERNIE 4.0 Turbo achieved notable improvements in inference efficiency, with throughput increasing significantly since its debut in June. ERNIE handled approximately 1.5 billion API calls daily in November, up from 600 million in August.

Successful Transformation in Baidu Wenku

AI-enabled features in Baidu Wenku exceeded 50 million uses in September, representing a year-over-year increase of over 300%, with subscription revenue growing by 23% year-over-year.

Autonomous Driving Milestone

Apollo Go provided about 988,000 rides in Q3, a 20% year-over-year increase, and surpassed 8 million cumulative rides in October.

Financial Performance

Non-GAAP operating income was RMB 7 billion, with a non-GAAP Baidu Core operating margin of 25%.

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Baidu (DE:B1C) Earnings, Revenues Date & History

The upcoming earnings date is based on a company’s previous reporting, and may be updated when the actual date is announced

Daily Earnings Calendar >

DE:B1C Earnings History

Report Date	Fiscal Quarter	Forecast / EPS	Last Year's EPS	EPS YoY Change	Slides	Play Transcript
Jul 31, 2018	2018 (Q2)	- / 2.79	2.119	31.62% (+0.67)	―	―
Oct 30, 2018	2018 (Q3)	- / 2.52	3.435	-26.72% (-0.92)	―	―
Feb 21, 2019	2018 (Q4)	- / 1.75	1.973	-11.54% (-0.23)	―	―
May 16, 2019	2019 (Q1)	- / 0.37	2.158	-83.01% (-1.79)	―	―
Aug 19, 2019	2019 (Q2)	- / 1.34	2.789	-51.99% (-1.45)	―	―
Nov 06, 2019	2019 (Q3)	- / 1.67	2.517	-33.67% (-0.85)	―	―
Feb 27, 2020	2019 (Q4)	- / 3.51	1.745	101.37% (+1.77)	―	―
May 18, 2020	2020 (Q1)	- / 1.17	0.367	219.13% (+0.80)	―	―
Aug 13, 2020	2020 (Q2)	- / 1.95	1.339	45.70% (+0.61)	―	―
Nov 16, 2020	2020 (Q3)	- / 2.69	1.67	61.38% (+1.02)	―	―

The table shows recent earnings report dates and whether the forecast was beat or missed. See the change in forecast and EPS from the previous year.

Beat

Missed

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DE:B1C Earnings-Related Price Changes

Report Date	Price 1 Day Before	Price 1 Day After	Percentage Change
Nov 21, 2024	€82.00	€77.70	-5.24%
Aug 22, 2024	€80.40	€77.40	-3.73%
May 16, 2024	€101.40	€102.20	+0.79%
Feb 28, 2024	€103.80	€95.40	-8.09%

Earnings announcements can affect a stock’s price. This table shows the stock's price the day before and the day after recent earnings reports, including the percentage change.

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