Baidu

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Dolphin Research

AI Cloud + Kunlun Chips: Time to Re-rate BIDU?

After so many years and so many calls, talk of a re-rating for $Baidu(BIDU.US) convinces few. Relying on the legacy internet biz or on autonomous driving won't deliver a re-rating.

Re-rating $BIDU-W(09888.HK) means breaking the 'old' businesses, treating legacy ads as a cash-flow unit with zero valuation. Under that premise, reassess, in the AI era, the value of BIDU as an AI infrastructure stock. The 'AI infra' version of BIDU, in Dolphin Research's view...

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Token price (L, $/M) Compute cost (L,$/M) ( Gross margin(R, %) 100% $10 75% c 50
Layer Product/Service Customers Business Model Foundation model companies, Al st
Hyperscaler GPU Rental and Model API ROIC ($bn) Hyperscaler GPU Rental and Model+15
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Dolphin Research

BIDU (Trans): Cloud margins still have room to climb, yet we hold firm in betting on AI.

Key Takeaways from Baidu’s Q2 2026 Earnings Call

However, the ad biz is being dragged by the AI search overhaul and the company's deliberate restraint on monetization. It is likely to remain under pressure in 2H.

The company is focusing resources on three pillars: iterating Kunlun Chip M100/M300 and restoring ERNIE to the first tier. It also plans to take Apollo Go overseas.

Baidu 心 百度
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Dolphin Research

BIDU: Legacy biz still bottoming; AI strength hinges on compute tailwinds

$Baidu(BIDU.US) Q2 results remained a mixed bag. Overall, performance was underwhelming.

Dolphin Research has repeatedly argued that BIDU offers only range‑trading setups this year, with catalysts tied to the planned IPOs of Rutong and Kunlun Chip, both expected within the year. Details at the end.

Since the start of this year, BIDU has adopted a new disclosure framework, splitting results into 'AI' and 'legacy' businesses...

昆仑芯 KUNLUNXIN
Baidu (BIDU.US; 9888.HK) Core Business Financial Results Figures in RMBm 1Q24 2Q
Breakdown of Baidu's AI Business Products IaaS GPU cloud, Baige, intelligent clo
Baidu core AI-powered Business revenue breakdown (in CNY100 millions) 160 AI Clo+9
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Dolphin Research

BIDU (Trans): Full-Stack AI Edge—Cost Efficiency & Deployment Stability

Below is Dolphin Research's curated Trans of $Baidu(BIDU.US) FQ1 2026 earnings call. For our earnings read-through, please see 'BIDU: Little Else to Rely On, All-in on Kunlun Chip'.

Key takeaways from the results.

1) Shareholder returns: last quarter the company announced a new buyback and introduced its first dividend policy. Management reiterated it will balance long-term AI investment with shareholder returns, committing to deliver sustainable value for shareholders.

2) AI core revenue exceeded 50% of total for the first time. In Q1 2026, BIDU's AI core revenue came in at over RMB 13.6bn...

NNNN NZZN SNNNZNZNT AI时代已经 来 The future is already here e- it's just not very ev
Baidu (BIDU.US; 9888.HK) Core Business Financial Results Figures in RMBm 1Q24 2Q
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Dolphin Research

BIDU: Little Else to Lean On — All in on Kunlun chips

$Baidu(BIDU.US) Q1 results were a mixed bag, with sharp contrasts across lines. They reflect a meaningful strategic pivot and business realignment in recent quarters.

By contrast, the structurally weak ads business is no longer the focus. What matters to investors now is execution on the narratives BIDU can sell—AI Cloud, Kunlun chips and buybacks.

Last quarter, the company adopted a new reporting framework. Results are split into 'AI' and 'Legacy' businesses...

昆仑芯 KUNLUNXIN
Baidu (BIDU.US; 9888.HK) Core Business Financial Results Figures in RMBm 1Q24 2Q
Current market P/S (forward Company Listing venue Last FY revenue Next FY revenu
Baidu Core - Total Revenues CNY 100mm Total revenues YoY 300 14.0% esearch searc+10
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Dolphin Research

BIDU: Ad Engine Falters; Is Kunlunxin the Lifeline? ---

$Baidu(BIDU.US) released Q4 results after the HK close on Feb 26, 2026, and the print was lackluster. That said, with a prolonged pullback already priced in, buybacks and dividends providing a floor, and year-ahead narratives such as Kunlun Chip's IPO and potential Stock Connect inclusion, the market is unlikely to impose a sustained penalty.

This quarter the company adopted a new reporting structure, splitting into AI and legacy businesses. The AI segment includes AI infrastructure, AI applications, and AI-native marketing, while most institutions are still modeling estimates under the prior framework...

NNNN NZZN SNNNZNZNT AI时代已经 来 The future is already here e- it's just not very ev
Baidu (BIDU.US; 9888.HK) Core Business Financial Results Figures in RMBm 1Q24 20
Baidu Core - Total Revenues CNY 100mm Total revenues YoY 300 20% 14.0% esearch s
Baidu core AI-powered Business revenue breakdown (in( CNY100 millions) 120 Al Cl+8
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Dolphin Research

AI Internet: 2026 ByteDance vs. BABA vs. Tencent — Three-Way Showdown

$Alibaba(BABA.US) $ByteDance(BYTED.NA) $TENCENT(00700.HK) $Baidu(BIDU.US) In our previous discussions of the AI value chain, Dolphin Research focused chiefly on North America. We examined the tangled, interdependent bargaining among upstream players.

By contrast, China’s AI ecosystem only truly broke into the mainstream last year, shaped by a consumer-driven base. After DeepSeek broke the compute-cost stalemate, the industry has tacitly converged on an application-first path as the locus of competition...

1010600 1110001101 TU 1001001 100 1001000 80 A00000 A 00010 10g 000 100 00 000 0
中国移动互联网流量与单价变化趋势 151.6 5,000 150.4 144.7 DolphinRese DolphinF DolphinR 160 131.3
中国移动互联网流量与单价增速变化 250% 200% 189% 150% DolphinResearch 流量增速 search 单价增速 163% O 124
Inference price across select benchmarks, 2022-24 Source: Epoch Al,2025; Artific+16
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Dolphin Research

Kunlun Chip IPO fast-tracks: Is BIDU's Google moment here?

Long-rumored Kunlun Chip spin-off is now official as $Baidu(BIDU.US) announced it.

On Jan 2, BIDU proposed to spin off Kunlun Chip Technology for an independent listing on the HKEX Main Board, while retaining control (59.45%).

BIDU has filed confidentially, and the detailed prospectus is not yet public.

Based on available information, Dolphin Research will first outline a few key questions.

1. Kunlun Chip's origins and evolution? It traces back to BIDU's FPGA accelerator project launched in 2011...

昆仑芯 KUNLUNXIN
时间 公司发展标志性事件 2011年 百度FPGA加速器项目启动 2013年 百度芯片架构事业部设立 2017年 百度发布自研XPU架构,次年 「百度昆仑」项目
产品代际 产品名称 发布时间 技术路线 单卡算力性能对标 优势特色 第一代 K100/K200 2018年7月 边缘计算 英伟达Jetson系列 低功耗、小体积
PRC Datacenter Accelerator Adapter by Chipset Vendor,2024 百度昆仑芯 Baidu 69279 ASIC+3
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Dolphin Research

Baidu (Minutes): AI native marketing is the future second curve

以下为海豚君整理的 $Baidu(BIDU.US) 2025 财年第三季度财报电话会议纪要, $BIDU-W(09888.HK) 财报解读请移步《 百度,猛贴 AI 讲故事,真能救活自己吗?》一、财报核心信息回顾 1. $BIDU-WR(89888.HK) AI 收入占比已达 40%:三季度,直接与 AI 相关的收入实现近 100 亿,这已达到总营收的 40%...

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Baidu (BIDU.US; 9888.HK) Core Business Financial Results Figures in RMBm 1Q24 2Q