Baidu Inc.

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Baidu video streaming unit iQiyi launches $2.4 billion U.S. IPO

Brenda Goh
MARCH 18, 2018 / 1:58 PM / UPDATED 9 MINUTES AGO

(Reuters) - Chinese video streaming service provider iQiyi Inc, a unit of search engine giant Baidu Inc (BIDU.O), has launched an initial public offering in New York worth up to $2.4 billion, seeking to expand its range of content.

The listing is expected to give the firm extra financial muscle as it squares off against rivals in the Chinese market, including Alibaba Group Holding Ltd’s (BABA.N) service Youku Tudou Inc.

It plans to offer 125 million American depositary shares priced at $17 to $19 each, the company said in a filing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Underwriters have an option to sell an additional 18.75 million shares, which if exercised in full could bring the value of the deal to about $2.7 billion.

IQiyi, which will list on the Nasdaq, said it expects to use about half of the proceeds to broaden and enhance its content offering while 10 percent would be earmarked to strengthen technology. The rest would go toward general corporate purposes.

More details in hhttps://www.reuters.com/article/us-baidu-iqiyi-ipo/baidu-video-streaming-unit-iqiyi-launches-2-4-billion-u-s-ipo-idUSKCN1GU05K?il=0

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Robin Li issues call to arms as Baidu slumps to first loss since 2005
* Baidu founder Robin Li tells senior managers that saying ‘I have tried’ is not enough
* Baidu posts first quarterly net loss of 327 million yuan (US$47.5 million) since 2005 IPO

Meng Jing & Sarah Dai  
Published: 9:16am, 17 May, 2019

Win the battles that need to be won. Be bold. Execute flawlessly. Stop finding excuses. Work hard. Fight harder.

These are messages from Baidu co-founder and chairman Robin Li Yanhong, who has again taken to the pen to stir the company’s more than 42,000 employees to action, as the Beijing-based search engine operator reported its first-ever quarterly loss since going public in 2005.

“2019 is not only a year of challenges, but also a year of opportunities. In the coming months and days, the whole Baidu family, from the senior management to all employees, must work hard and fight harder,” Li said in the memo, a copy of which was obtained by the Post.

“For senior managers, saying ‘I have tried’ is not enough and we need to make sure we win in the battlegrounds that we must win; for employees, we must spare no effort to make sure every task is executed flawlessly.”

Baidu has had a stranglehold on search in China with 70 per cent of the market, especially after Google exited in 2010. But a shift in internet usage patterns has chipped at that dominance, with the rise of self-contained super-app ecosystems by rivals like Alibaba and Tencent. A user could quite easily watch a movie, read news, shop online and order takeaway food without having to leave one of these walled communities or go to a traditional search engine.

Meanwhile, the rise of start-ups like ByteDance, with their AI recommendation-driven news and short-video apps Toutiao and Douyin, are challenging the original trio known commonly as BAT, for the attention and wallets of China’s more than 800 million internet users.

Baidu on Friday reported a net loss of 327 million yuan (US$47.5 million) for the three months ended March, about 75 per cent more than what analysts had estimated. That compared with better-than-expected quarterly profits at Alibaba and Tencent. Baidu’s American depository receipts fell in extended trading.

The search giant saw its advertising business slow further amid the cooling down of the Chinese economy and fiercer competition not just from Tencent and Alibaba but also upstarts like ByteDance.

More details in https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/artic...-loss-2005

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Baidu has lost over $60 billion in value since its peak — now earnings are expected to fall further
* Baidu reports second-quarter earnings on Monday with the search giant expected to show a sharp fall in earnings.
* The internet giant’s market value has dropped over $60 billion since its peak in May 2018.
* The company is facing increased competition for advertising dollars but it is focusing on new artificial intelligence products that could pay dividends in the future.

Arjun Kharpal
PUBLISHED 19 August 2019

Chinese search giant Baidu is facing stiff competition from newer rivals, and has seen over $60 billion of its value wiped off since its peak last year.

It’s part of China’s internet trio — Baidu, Alibaba and Tencent — which have collectively been named “BAT.” But it’s facing an increasingly tough advertising market, and has been falling behind the other two rivals.

Often dubbed “China’s Google,” Baidu has seen its shares slide nearly 40% this year. In contrast, gaming titan Tencent is up just over 6%, while e-commerce giant Alibaba is more than 27% higher.

At its peak in mid-May 2018, Baidu was worth around $99 billion — with its shares priced at $284. Stocks of the search giant have fallen to $96.7 a share with its market cap plunging to $33.8 billion. Comparatively, Tencent and Alibaba are both worth over $400 billion.

Baidu earnings

Ahead of its second-quarter earnings report on Monday, analysts are expecting further pain for Baidu.

Wall Street is predicting the following results for the June quarter:

* Revenue of 25.76 billion yuan ($3.66 billion), according to estimates from Refinitiv. If that number is realized, it would represent a near 0.8% year-on-year decline.

* Earnings per share of 2.91 yuan, according to Refinitiv estimates. If achieved, that would be a more than 83% year-on-year decline.

For a long time, Baidu has enjoyed dominance of China’s search market given the absence of major competition. Google exited the market in 2010.

But Baidu was slow to respond to the growth of mobile and has faced growing competition from new entrants, such as TikTok parent ByteDance. As a result, advertisers have switched their budgets to other platforms.

“This is a structural change that is unfavorable to Baidu’s core search business,” Xueru Zhang, senior analyst at 86Research, told CNBC.

Mobile push

In China, there is a trend of so-called “super apps.” These are products like Tencent’s WeChat or Ant Financial’s Alipay where a user can do a number of different things ranging from payments to ordering food all within one app.

Baidu has been investing heavily in its own mobile offering. It has an app where users can search and watch videos as well as a number of other functions. The company announced last week that the number of daily active users on the app had surpassed 200 million.

It has introduced features such as mini programs which is an app within the app — something that WeChat has on its platform already. The aim is to increase the amount of time users spend within the app. But Zhang said Baidu is late to the party.

“Baidu is just a follower, and the market did not give much credit to these initiatives,” Zhang told CNBC.

A.I. focus

Baidu has been shifting its business to focus on artificial intelligence (AI) products. This includes its driverless car technology unit and voice assistant for example.

More details in https://www.cnbc.com/2019/08/19/baidu-q2...rofit.html