Zhengyu's questions to Baidu Inc (BIDU) leadership • Q4 2024
Question
Zhengyu from UBS inquired about the Baidu Core margin trend for Q1 and full-year 2025, considering advertising headwinds and the increasing revenue mix from the cloud business. He also asked about potential operating efficiencies and any major investment plans for the year.
Answer
Interim CFO Junjie He stated that despite near-term pressures, strategic AI investments are expected to deliver sustainable impact. He outlined a focus on improving resilience through gradual ad revenue recovery, robust growth and margin expansion in AI Cloud, and narrowing losses in businesses like Apollo Go. Investments will continue to target high-ROI initiatives like ERNIE and autonomous driving, balanced with a commitment to operational efficiency.