Baidu surpasses revenue expectations, celebrates AI advancements.

China’s Baidu Beats ‍Revenue Estimates, Focuses on AI

By Akash Sriram and Brenda Goh

China’s Baidu Inc exceeded ‍second-quarter revenue expectations,​ driven by a rebound in advertising spending following the pandemic. The tech‍ giant, known⁢ for operating China’s largest search engine, plans to further enhance its efforts in generative artificial intelligence⁤ (AI).

With⁢ the easing of COVID-19 restrictions, businesses have resumed spending on digital advertising, contributing to Baidu’s revenue growth.‌ Baidu’s co-founder and CEO, Robin Li, highlighted the ‌outperformance of sectors ⁤such as advertising, healthcare, financial ⁣services, local services, and travel, expressing confidence in their continued momentum.

The company’s U.S.-listed shares saw a 1.2% increase.

Li described Baidu’s transition towards AI as ⁢a “paradigm shift,” emphasizing ​the company’s investments ⁤in⁣ autonomous driving and ⁤large language models ​(LLM). The success of OpenAI’s ChatGPT chatbot has fueled global interest in this field.

Baidu⁢ has integrated its Ernie AI model into various products, ⁤including its search engine, expecting these enhancements to‍ drive market share‍ growth.

“The hard work we’ve put into generative AI is starting to pay off,” said Li ‌during the‍ post-earnings call.

However, Baidu is still awaiting regulatory approval in China for a widespread launch of its Ernie bot,⁤ similar to ChatGPT. Currently, the chatbot is limited to invite-only tests ⁤since its unveiling in March. Li expressed optimism, noting that authorities‌ are increasingly supportive of generative AI. China recently published measures to regulate its generative AI industry, providing clarity for​ companies like Baidu.

Baidu reported second-quarter revenue of 34.06⁢ billion yuan ($4.67 billion), surpassing analysts’ ‌average⁤ estimate of 33.28 billion‌ yuan. Its online marketing revenue increased by 15%​ during the quarter.

The company’s adjusted profit per American Depositary​ Share (ADS) was 22.55 yuan, exceeding the previous year’s profit ‌of 15.79 yuan per share. This also ‌surpassed analysts’ ​average estimate of 16.86 yuan per ADS.

($1 = 7.2928 Chinese yuan renminbi)

Reporting by Akash​ Sriram in Bengaluru and Brenda Goh‌ in Shanghai; Editing by Shilpi​ Majumdar, Kirsten Donovan, and ⁣Tomasz Janowski

Other News:

Joe Biden jets off to ‌Hawaii, Trump pays $200,000 in Fulton County and Fat Bottomed Girls get blacklisted.

Trump spokeswoman Liz‌ Harrington suggests the timing of⁤ the latest indictment of Donald Trump reeks of collusion.

The death ⁢toll from the Maui wildfires​ continues to rise, with at least 111 confirmed fatalities as⁤ of Friday​ while nearly 1,000 others remain missing.

Nebraska Governor Jim ⁤Pillen signs the Opportunity Scholarship⁣ Act, which commits million dollars in tax credits to⁤ children across the state.⁣

(Reuters) – International Business Machines has agreed to sell its weather business to private equity firm Francisco Partners for an undisclosed sum,…

By Akash Sriram and Brenda Goh (Reuters) -China’s⁤ Baidu ⁤Inc beat second-quarter revenue estimates on Tuesday, helped by ​a​ post-pandemic recovery in…

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – EU antitrust regulators will examine whether Microsoft’s proposal to sell its non-EU cloud streaming rights to Ubisoft Entertainment in…

By Katie Paul NEW YORK ⁤(Reuters) – Facebook parent company Meta Platforms on Tuesday released an AI⁤ model capable of translating and…