May 20 - The Chinese tech giant Baidu (BIDU, Financial) is set to unveil its first-quarter 2025 results on Wednesday before the markets open.
Analysts expect net income to fall about 31% year-on-year to $1.99 per share and revenue to slip roughly 2% to $4.29 billion. Year-to-date, BIDU stock has climbed about 8%.
Macquarie's Ellie Jiang trimmed her price target to $83 from $85 and kept a Hold rating, saying AI monetization may take time amid stiff competition and a soft macro backdrop. She forecasts AI Cloud revenue will grow around 25% to RMB 5.9 billion, partially offsetting ad-business weakness.
Citi's Alicia Yap reiterated a Buy rating with a $139 target, highlighting Baidu's recent AI product launches—Ernie 4.5 Turbo and Ernie X1 Turbo, and their cost-efficiency gains.
Options traders are bracing for a roughly 6% share move in either direction following the report, based on at-the-money straddle prices.
Is Baidu a Buy Before Earnings?
Based on the one year price targets offered by 31 analysts, the average target price for Baidu Inc is $113.43 with a high estimate of $207.96 and a low estimate of $75.98. The average target implies a upside of +27.10% from the current price of $89.25.
Based on GuruFocus estimates, the estimated GF Value for Baidu Inc in one year is $119.92, suggesting a upside of +34.36% from the current price of $89.25. For deeper insights, visit the Baidu Forecast page.
