Baidu Exceeds Revenue Estimates on AI, Cloud Services Strength

Baidu, Inc.(NASDAQ: BIDU and HKEX: 9888) , a leading AI company with strong Internet foundation, today announced its unaudited financial results for the first quarter endedMarch 31, 2022.

Baidu Inc surpassed quarterly revenue estimates on Thursday as a resurgence of COVID-19 in China and accompanying restrictions drove up demand for its cloud and artificial intelligence products.

The company - Google's equivalent in China - has expanded aggressively into cloud services, robotaxis and autonomous driving in recent years as competition rises for its core search platform and advertisement business.

It last month received permits to deploy robotaxis without humans in the driving seat on open Chinese roads for the first time.

Total revenue came in at 28.41 billion yuan ($4.22 billion) in the first quarter, compared with analysts' average estimate of 27.82 billion yuan, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

Net loss attributable to Baidu fell to 885 million yuan, or 2.87 yuan per American Depository Share (ADS), in the quarter ended March 31, compared with a profit of 25.65 billion yuan, or 73.76 yuan per ADS, a year earlier.

Baidu shares gained nearly 4% after reporting quarterly results.

"Baidu delivered solid first quarter results, especially with regard to our cloud and intelligent driving businesses. Baidu AI Cloud reported another quarter of strong revenue growth andApollo Gowas granted the first permit inChinato provide driverless ride-hailing services on public roads inBeijing," saidRobin Li, Co-founder and CEO of Baidu. "Since mid-March, our business has been negatively impacted by the recent COVID-19 resurgence inChina. Although challenges related to the virus continue to pressure our near term business operations, we remain confident that our new AI businesses will boost the long-term growth of Baidu and contribute toChina'sinnovation-driven economy and sustainable development."

"Revenues from Baidu Core remained healthy with non-ad revenues increasing by 35% year over year, driven by Baidu AI Cloud, which grew 45% year over year in the quarter," saidRong Luo, CFO of Baidu. "Looking ahead, we remain committed to quality revenue growth and an enduring business model. In addition, we will further enhance our overall operational efficiency to drive long-term growth."

First Quarter 2022 Financial Highlights

Operational Highlights

Corporate

• Baidu released its annual ESG Report in May 2022, which details Baidu's ESG policies and sustainability initiatives (http://esg.baidu.com/en/esg_download.html).

AI Cloud

• PaddlePaddle developer community has grown to 4.77 million and has served 180,000 businesses and created 560,000 models, as ofMay 20, 2022.
• Baidu ACE smart transportation has been adopted by 41 cities, up from 16 cities a year ago, based on contract value of overRMB10 million, as of the end of the first quarter of 2022.

Intelligent Driving

• Baidu received a nomination letter from Dongfeng Motor, a Top 3 domestic automaker, inApril 2022, indicating that Dongfeng Motor intends to adopt Apollo Self Driving (ANP, AVP, HD Map) in one of its popular models. This followed the nomination letter from BYD earlier this year.
• OnApril 28th2022,Apollo Gowas granted the permits to provide driverless ride hailing services on public roads of theYizhuangregion of Beijing. Apollo also received the first permits inChongqingto conduct driverless testing onMay 20th, 2022.
• Apollo Goprovided 196K rides in the first quarter of 2022.
• Apollo Gois now available in ten cities, includingBeijing,Shanghai,Guangzhou,Shenzhen,Chongqing,Changsha, Cangzhou, Yangquan,Wuzhen Water Townin Jiaxing andWuhan.Apollo Goexpanded intoWuzhen Water Townin Jiaxing onMarch 26, 2022andWuhanonMay 10, 2022.

Other Growth Initiatives

• Xiaodu again ranked No.1 in smart display shipments globally for 2021, according to Strategy Analytics and Canalys. Xiaodu continues to be ranked No.1 in smart speaker shipments inChinafor 2021, according to Strategy Analytics, IDC and Canalys.

Mobile Ecosystem

• In March, Baidu App's MAUs reached 632 million, up 13% year over year, and daily logged in users reached 83%.
• In March, Baidu Smart Mini Program ("SMPs") MAUs reached 508 million, up 22% year over year, and the number of SMPs grew by 26% year over year.
• Revenue from Managed Page grew by 31% and reached 47% of Baidu Core's online marketing revenue in the first quarter of 2022.

iQIYI

• iQIYI's average daily number of total subscribing members for the quarter was 101 million, compared to 105 million for the first quarter of 2021 and 97 million for the fourth quarter of 2021.