Baidu Announces Second Quarter 2025 Results

Baidu Announces Second Quarter 2025 Results

BEIJING, Aug. 20, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Baidu, Inc. (NASDAQ: BIDU and HKEX: 9888 (HKD Counter) and 89888 (RMB Counter)), ("Baidu" or the "Company"), a leading AI company with strong Internet foundation, today announced its unaudited financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2025.

"In the second quarter, our AI Cloud business continued to deliver robust and healthy revenue growth, supported by our strengthening full-stack AI capabilities and comprehensive end-to-end AI products and solutions. This performance helped mitigate the near-term pressure on online marketing business, as we intensified the AI transformation of Baidu Search to elevate user experience and establish a stronger foundation for long-term growth. Apollo Go accelerated global expansion while actively exploring new business models, underscored by our leadership in both left-hand drive and right-hand drive robotaxi markets globally," said Robin Li, Co-founder and CEO of Baidu. "We remain focused on AI initiatives that offer the greatest long-term value creation potential, where our technology and innovation can make the most meaningful and lasting impact."

"In Q2, mainly propelled by new AI initiatives, Baidu Core's non-online marketing revenue exceeded RMB 10 billion for the first time, delivering 34% year-over-year growth and marking a more balanced, diversified mix," said Haijian He, CFO of Baidu. "We remain committed to our AI investments, focusing on advancing AI transformation across the Mobile Ecosystem, sustaining healthy growth momentum in AI Cloud, and accelerating Apollo Go's global expansion. While navigating near-term challenges, we believe these strategic priorities will drive significant long-term value."

Second Quarter 2025 Financial Highlights^[1]

Operational Highlights
Corporate

• Baidu open-sourced the ERNIE 4.5 series, its latest and most advanced family of foundation models comprising ten models of different architectures and sizes, in June 2025. The ERNIE 4.5 series delivers strong performance particularly in instruction following, world knowledge memorization, and visual understanding.
• Baidu has returned US$677 million to shareholders since the beginning of Q1 2025, bringing the cumulative repurchase to US$2.3 billion under the 2023 share repurchase program.
• Baidu launched MuseSteamer, its proprietary video generation model in July 2025.

AI Cloud

• Baidu AI Cloud was ranked the No.1 AI cloud provider for the sixth consecutive year, according to IDC's 2024 report on China's AI public cloud market, issued in July 2025.
• Qianfan, Baidu's MaaS platform, expanded its model library with the open-sourced ERNIE 4.5 series and additional third-party models, while integrating more AI tools and functions to better support AI-native application development.

Intelligent Driving

• Apollo Go, Baidu's autonomous ride-hailing service, provided over 2.2 million fully driverless rides in the second quarter of 2025, representing a 148% year-over-year increase. As of August 2025, the cumulative rides provided to the public by Apollo Go surpassed 14 million.
• Apollo Go entered into a multi-year strategic partnership with Uber Technologies, Inc. in July 2025 to deploy thousands of Apollo Go's fully autonomous vehicles on the Uber platform across multiple international markets, with initial deployments planned for Asia and the Middle East.
• Apollo Go entered into a strategic partnership with Lyft, Inc. in August 2025 to deploy Apollo Go's fully autonomous vehicles across key European markets through the Lyft platform, starting with Germany and the United Kingdom and scaling to thousands of vehicles across Europe.
• Apollo Go expanded its open-road testing area in Hong Kong to Tung Chung residential areas in June 2025, and to the Southern District in August.
• Apollo Go commenced open-road testing in designated areas in both Dubai and Abu Dhabi in August 2025.
• Apollo Go's global footprint covered 16 cities as of June 2025.

Mobile Ecosystem

• The AI transformation of Baidu Search accelerated rapidly. By the end of June, over 50% of mobile search result pages contained AI-generated content, up from 35% in April. By July, 64% of mobile search result pages contained AI-generated content, with traditional link-based results progressively replaced by structured, intelligent, and multimodal-first AI answers.
• In June 2025, Baidu App's MAUs reached 735 million, up 5% year over year.
• Managed Page accounted for 50% of Baidu Core's online marketing revenue in the second quarter of 2025.

Second Quarter 2025 Financial Results

Total revenues were RMB32.7 billion ($4.57 billion), decreasing 4% year over year.

• Revenue from Baidu Core was RMB26.3 billion ($3.66 billion), decreasing 2% year over year; online marketing revenue was RMB16.2 billion ($2.27 billion), decreasing 15% year over year, and non-online marketing revenue was RMB10.0 billion ($1.40 billion), up 34% year over year, primarily driven by the boost of AI Cloud business.
• Revenue from iQIYI was RMB6.6 billion ($926 million), decreasing 11% year over year.

Cost of revenues was RMB18.4 billion ($2.56 billion), increasing 12% year over year, primarily due to an increase in costs related to AI Cloud business and content costs.

Selling, general and administrative expenses were RMB6.0 billion ($832 million), increasing 5% year over year, primarily due to an increase in channel spending expenses, partially offset by a decrease in personnel-related expenses.

Research and development expenses were RMB5.1 billion ($715 million), decreasing 13% year over year, primarily due to a decrease in personnel-related expenses.

Operating income was RMB3.3 billion ($457 million). Baidu Core operating income was RMB3.3 billion ($464 million), and Baidu Core operating margin was 13%. Non-GAAP operating income was RMB4.4 billion ($620 million). Non-GAAP Baidu Core operating income was RMB4.4 billion ($612 million), and non-GAAP Baidu Core operating margin was 17%.

Total other income, net was RMB4.9 billion ($678 million), increasing 531% year over year, primarily due to an increase in fair value gain and pickup of earnings from long-term investments, partially offset by an increase in net foreign exchange loss arising from exchange rate fluctuation between Renminbi and U.S. dollar.

Income tax expense was RMB881 million ($123 million), compared to RMB1.1 billion in the same period last year.

Net income attributable to Baidu was RMB7.3 billion ($1.02 billion), and diluted earnings per ADS was RMB20.35 ($2.84). Net income attributable to Baidu Core was RMB7.4 billion ($1.03 billion), and net margin for Baidu Core was 28%. Non-GAAP net income attributable to Baidu was RMB4.8 billion ($669 million). Non-GAAP diluted earnings per ADS was RMB13.58 ($1.90). Non-GAAP net income attributable to Baidu Core was RMB4.8 billion ($669 million), and non-GAAP net margin for Baidu Core was 18%.

Adjusted EBITDA was RMB6.5 billion ($906 million) and adjusted EBITDA margin was 20%. Adjusted EBITDA for Baidu Core was RMB6.4 billion ($893 million) and adjusted EBITDA margin for Baidu Core was 24%.

As of June 30, 2025, cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash and short-term investments were RMB124.2 billion ($17.34 billion), and cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash and short-term investments excluding iQIYI were RMB119.9 billion ($16.74 billion). As of June 30, 2025, cash, cash equivalents, short-term investments and long-term time deposits and held-to-maturity investmentsfor Baidu Core were RMB229.7 billion ($32.07 billion). Free cash flow was negative RMB4.7 billion (negative $653 million), and free cash flow excluding iQIYI was negative RMB4.6 billion (negative $648 million), primarily due to an increase of investment in AI business. We define net cash position as total cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash, short-term investments, net, long-term time deposits and held-to-maturity investments, and others, less total loans, convertible senior notes, and notes payable. As of June 30, 2025, net cash position for Baidu was RMB155.1 billion ($21.66 billion).

Conference Call Information
Baidu's management will hold an earnings conference call at 8.00 AM on Aug 20, 2025, U.S. Eastern Time (8.00 PM on Aug 20, 2025, Beijing Time).

Please register in advance of the conference call using the link provided below. It will automatically direct you to the registration page of "Baidu Inc. Q2 2025 Earnings Conference Call". Please follow the steps to enter your registration details, then click "Register". Upon registering, you will then be provided with the dial-in number, the passcode, and your unique access PIN. This information will also be emailed to you as a calendar invite.

For pre-registration, please click:
https://s1.c-conf.com/diamondpass/10049043-p7skv7.html 

In the 10 minutes prior to the call start time, you may use the conference access information (including dial-in number(s), the passcode and unique access PIN) provided in the calendar invite that you have received following your pre-registration.

Additionally, a live and archived webcast of this conference call will be available at https://ir.baidu.com.

About Baidu
Founded in 2000, Baidu's mission is to make the complicated world simpler through technology. Baidu is a leading AI company with strong Internet foundation, trading on NASDAQ under "BIDU" and HKEX under "9888". One Baidu ADS represents eight Class A ordinary shares.

Safe Harbor Statement
This announcement contains forward-looking statements. These statements are made under the "safe harbor" provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "will," "expects," "anticipates," "future," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates," "confident" and similar statements. Among other things, Baidu's and other parties' strategic and operational plans, contain forward-looking statements. Baidu may also make written or oral forward-looking statements in its periodic reports to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, in announcements made on the website of The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (the "Hong Kong Stock Exchange"), in its annual report to shareholders, in press releases and other written materials and in oral statements made by its officers, directors or employees to third parties. Statements that are not historical facts, including but not limited to statements about Baidu's beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement, including but not limited to the following: Baidu's growth strategies; its future business development, including development of new products and services; its ability to attract and retain users and customers; competition in the Chinese Internet search and newsfeed market; competition for online marketing customers; changes in the Company's revenues and certain cost or expense items as a percentage of its revenues; the outcome of ongoing, or any future, litigation or arbitration, including those relating to intellectual property rights; the expected growth of the Chinese-language Internet search and newsfeed market and the number of Internet and broadband users in China; Chinese governmental policies relating to the Internet and Internet search providers, and general economic conditions in China and elsewhere. Further information regarding these and other risks is included in the Company's annual report on Form 20-F and other documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, and announcements on the website of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Baidu does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement, except as required under applicable law. All information provided in this press release and in the attachments is as of the date of the press release, and Baidu undertakes no duty to update such information, except as required under applicable law.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures
To supplement Baidu's consolidated financial results presented in accordance with GAAP, Baidu uses the following non-GAAP financial measures: non-GAAP operating income, non-GAAP operating margin, non-GAAP net income attributable to Baidu, non-GAAP net margin, non-GAAP diluted earnings per ADS, adjusted EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA margin and free cash flow. The presentation of these non-GAAP financial measures is not intended to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for the financial information prepared and presented in accordance with GAAP.

Baidu believes that these non-GAAP financial measures provide meaningful supplemental information regarding its performance and liquidity by excluding certain items that may not be indicative of its recurring core business operating results, such as operating performance excluding non-cash charges or non-operating in nature. The Company believes that both management and investors benefit from referring to these non-GAAP financial measures in assessing its performance and when planning and forecasting future periods. These non-GAAP financial measures also facilitate management's internal comparisons to Baidu's historical performance and liquidity. The Company believes these non-GAAP financial measures are useful to investors in allowing for greater transparency with respect to supplemental information used by management in its financial and operational decision making. A limitation of using these non-GAAP financial measures is that these non-GAAP measures exclude certain items that have been and will continue to be for the foreseeable future a significant component in the Company's results of operations. These non-GAAP financial measures presented here may not be comparable to similarly titled measures presented by other companies. Other companies may calculate similarly titled measures differently, limiting their usefulness as comparative measures to the Company's data.

Non-GAAP operating income represents operating income excluding share-based compensation expenses, and amortization and impairment of intangible assets resulting from business combinations.

Non-GAAP net income attributable to Baidu represents net income attributable to Baidu excluding share-based compensation expenses, amortization and impairment of intangible assets resulting from business combinations, disposal gain or loss, impairment of long-term investments, and fair value gain or loss of long-term investments and exchangeable bonds, adjusted for related income tax effects. Baidu's share of equity method investments for these non-GAAP reconciling items, amortization and impairment of intangible assets not on the investees' books, accretion of their redeemable non-controlling interests, and the gain or loss associated with the issuance of shares by the investees at a price higher or lower than the carrying value per share, adjusted for related income tax effects, are also excluded.

Non-GAAP diluted earnings per ADS represents diluted earnings per ADS calculated by dividing non-GAAP net income attributable to Baidu, by the weighted average number of ordinary shares expressed in ADS. Adjusted EBITDA represents operating income excluding depreciation, amortization and impairment of intangible assets resulting from business combinations, and share-based compensation expenses.

For more information on non-GAAP financial measures, please see the tables captioned "Reconciliations of non-GAAP financial measures to the nearest comparable GAAP measure."