Baidu (BIDU) Stock Forecast & Price Target

Baidu's strong positive outlook is supported by its leading position in the Chinese search engine market, where it holds over 50% market share as of 2024, significantly bolstering its primary revenue source from online marketing services. The company has demonstrated robust growth in its AI initiatives, with AI Cloud revenue increasing by 34% year-over-year in the first half of 2025, while non-advertising revenue accounted for approximately 40% of Baidu Core, indicating a successful pivot towards more stable, subscription-based revenue streams. Additionally, AI-native marketing services experienced an impressive 262% year-over-year growth, underscoring the increasing market demand for Baidu's innovative technology offerings and enhancing its overall financial performance.

Baidu's stock faces a negative outlook primarily due to a consistent decline in advertising revenue, with a reported 15% drop, which has significantly impacted its core revenues, declining 2% year-over-year. Additionally, Baidu’s push into generative AI has suppressed traditional ad load and led to low visibility in monetization, forecasting a further 15% decline in core ad revenue for the upcoming year. Furthermore, although Baidu's EBITDA slightly exceeded consensus expectations, margins have declined substantially by 11.6 percentage points, reflecting ongoing challenges in the company's transition to AI-driven services.