Baidu Inc (NASDAQ:BIDU) stock fell 0.12% (As on August 23, 11:22:02 AM UTC-4, Source: Google Finance) after the company reported mixed second quarter results, with earnings beating expectations but revenue falling slightly short. The company’s AI Cloud business continued to show strong growth, helping to offset ongoing weakness in its core online marketing segment. The company’s AI Cloud business was a bright spot, with non-online marketing revenue growing 10% YoY to RMB7.5 billion ($1.03 billion). However, online marketing revenue declined 2% YoY to RMB19.2 billion ($2.64 billion) as macroeconomic headwinds continued to impact advertising spending. The company highlighted progress in its autonomous driving business Apollo Go, which provided about 899,000 rides in Q2, up 26% YoY. As of July 28, 2024, the cumulative rides provided to the public by Apollo Go surpassed 7 million.Baidu also launched its latest AI model ERNIE 4.0 Turbo in June.

Moreover, PaddlePaddle and ERNIE developer community grew to 14.7 million in June 2024. On June 19, Apollo Go started offering 100% fully driverless operations in practically the entire Wuhan municipality, its largest operational city, marking a significant milestone. The sixth-generation of the autonomous vehicle, the RT6, is now undergoing scalable testing. Further, In June 2024, Baidu App’s MAUs reached 703 million, up 4% year over year. Managed Page accounted for 51% of Baidu Core’s online marketing revenue in the second quarter of 2024.

BIDU in the second quarter of FY 24 has reported the adjusted earnings per ADS of RMB21.02 ($2.89), beating the analysts’ estimates for the adjusted earnings per ADS of RMB18.54. The company had reported the adjusted revenue flat growth to RMB33.93 billion ($4.67 billion) in the second quarter of FY 24, missing the analysts’ estimates for revenue of RMB34.14 billion. Non-GAAP operating income was RMB7.5 billion ($1.03 billion). Non-GAAP Baidu Core operating income was RMB7.0 billion ($964 million), and non-GAAP Baidu Core operating margin was 26%. Net income attributable to Baidu was RMB5.5 billion ($755 million), and diluted earnings per ADS was RMB15.01 ($2.07). Net income attributable to Baidu Core was RMB5.5 billion ($752 million), and net margin for Baidu Core was 20%. As of June 30, 2024, cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash and short-term investments were RMB162.0 billion ($22.29 billion). Free cash flow was RMB6.3 billion ($862 million).

Additionally, Baidu returned US$301 million to shareholders since the beginning of Q2 2024, bringing the cumulative repurchase to about US$1.2 billion under the 2023 share repurchase program.