Baidu (BIDU) shares slip after Q4 revenue miss

Baidu (NASDAQ: BIDU) shares slipped more than 1.3% in premarket trading Wednesday after the Chinese internet giant reported worse-than-expected FQ4 revenue.

Earnings per share (EPS) was reported at RMB21.86, topping the consensus expectations of RMB17.58. Revenue came in at RMB34.95 billion, missing the projected RMB35.14 billion.

Baidu Core generated RMB27.49 billion, topping the anticipated RMB27.31 billion. However, revenue from iQIYI reached RMB7.7 billion, failing to meet the expected RMB7.86 billion.

The monthly active users (MAUs) were reported at 667 million, exceeding the estimate of 658.74 million.

Moreover, the non-GAAP operating margin for Baidu Core was documented at 23%.

"Baidu Core reported another solid quarter," said Robin Li, Co-founder and CEO of Baidu.

"Throughout 2023, we made significant strides in advancing ERNIE and ERNIE Bot, reinventing our products and services, and achieving breakthroughs in monetization. Concurrently, our core business remained resilient and healthy," he added.

"Looking ahead, our commitment to Gen-AI and foundation models remains unwavering, paving the way for the [gradual] creation of a new growth engine."

Jefferies analyst Thomas Chong said that the key highlights from the earnings report were revenue growth and adjusted profit beat (RMB7.1b vs Jefferies at RMB 6.8b), as well as the higher-than-expected operating margin.

By Vahid Karaahmetovic

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