Investing.com -- Baidu (NASDAQ:BIDU) posted stronger-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings and revenue, though the company’s shares fell 7.3% on Tuesday, as investors were cautious about a decrease in online marketing revenue.
The Chinese internet and AI giant posted Q4 earnings per share (EPS) of RMB19.18, beating analysts’ expectations of RMB16.42.
Baidu’s revenue for the quarter stood at RMB34.12 billion, also above the consensus estimate of RMB33.64 billion. However, online marketing revenue fell 7% to RMB17.9 billion. Non-online marketing revenue rose 18%, up to RMB9.8 billion, driven by AI Cloud.
The company’s core business generated RMB27.7 billion in revenue, ahead of the projected RMB26.75 billion. However, iQIYI, Baidu’s streaming platform, reported revenue of RMB6.6 billion, falling short of the RMB6.84 billion estimate.
"2024 marked a pivotal year in our ongoing transformation from an internet-centric to an AI-first business. AI Cloud gained momentum, fueled by broad market recognition of our full stack AI capabilities," said Robin Li, co-founder and CEO of Baidu.
"With our strategic foresight increasingly validated, we expect our AI investments to deliver more significant results in 2025," he added.
Baidu reported an adjusted operating profit of RMB5.05 billion, above the expected RMB4.89 billion. Adjusted EBITDA came in at RMB6.95 billion, missing the forecast of RMB7.47 billion.
The company’s monthly active users reached 679 million, also below the estimate of 690.82 million.
(Vahid Karaahmetovic also contributed to this reporting)