Sou Hu Cai Jing·2025-11-27 12:33Core Insights - Baidu's third-quarter report revealed a significant revenue decline of 7% year-on-year, marking the largest single-quarter drop in its history, with a net loss of 11.2 billion yuan [2][3] - Despite a 50% increase in AI-related revenue to 10 billion yuan, this growth was insufficient to offset the decline in traditional business segments, particularly online marketing, which saw a 19% drop [2][3][6] - The company is facing intense competition from rivals like ByteDance and Alibaba, leading to a painful transition period for its AI strategy [2][4] Revenue Performance - Baidu's core search advertising revenue fell by 19%, indicating a fundamental challenge to its traditional business model [3] - In contrast, the overall Chinese internet advertising market grew by 6.4% during the same period, with competitors like Tencent and Bilibili experiencing revenue growth of 21% and 23% respectively [3][4] Market Position and User Behavior - Advertisers are shifting their budgets towards platforms that offer shorter conversion paths, such as e-commerce and short video platforms, which has led to Baidu's marginalization [4] - User search habits are changing, with more users opting for platforms like Xiaohongshu and Douyin for information, resulting in Baidu's media position index dropping to ninth place [5] Cost Structure and Profitability - Baidu's revenue costs increased by 12% year-on-year, with sales and administrative expenses rising by 14%, primarily due to investments in AI cloud infrastructure [5][6] - The rising costs are squeezing profit margins, as the company spends more to generate revenue, making it difficult for AI business growth to compensate for losses in traditional advertising [6] Strategic Execution Challenges - Baidu's historical tendency to lag behind competitors in execution, despite early recognition of AI's potential, has hindered its ability to capitalize on its technological advancements [7][9] - The company has struggled to transform its AI capabilities into competitive consumer products, with its AI applications showing slow growth and low user engagement compared to rivals [7][8] Future Directions - Baidu is attempting to pivot towards an "Orion AI Engine" to shift its search model from traditional link retrieval to task-oriented solutions, aiming to maintain relevance in the AI era [8] - The company must transition from an advertising-centric model to one focused on user value and product experience to avoid further marginalization [9]