Baidu (BIDU, Financial) posted stronger-than-expected Q4 results, with non-GAAP earnings per American depositary share (EPADS) coming in at $2.63—beating analyst estimates by $0.78.
Revenue hit $4.67 billion, slightly ahead of expectations by $70 million, though it dipped 2% from a year earlier. The company's AI Cloud business was a bright spot, driving an 18% increase in non-online marketing revenue to RMB9.8 billion ($1.34 billion).
Meanwhile, online marketing revenue declined 7% to RMB17.9 billion ($2.46 billion), bringing total Baidu Core revenue to RMB27.7 billion ($3.80 billion), up 1% year over year. Streaming platform iQIYI (IQ) saw a 14% revenue drop to RMB6.6 billion ($906 million), while Baidu App's monthly active users reached 679 million in December 2024, a 2% increase from the prior year.
As of year-end, Baidu had $19.06 billion in cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments, or $18.45 billion when excluding iQIYI. Free cash flow came in at $3 million, though excluding iQIYI, it was negative $65 million.
