BIDU(09888) 东吴证券·2025-02-24 03:23Investment Rating - The report maintains a "Buy" rating for Baidu Group-SW (09888.HK) [1] Core Insights - The report highlights a significant acceleration in Baidu's cloud business, projecting strong growth in AI-related services for 2025. The intelligent cloud revenue grew by 26% year-on-year in Q4 2024, up from 12% in Q1, 14% in Q2, and 11% in Q3 [3] - The report notes that Baidu's core operating profit margin declined by 4 percentage points year-on-year, primarily due to a one-time loss of RMB 1 billion, which included provisions for expected credit losses and inventory impairments [4] - The report anticipates gradual improvement in Baidu's advertising business in 2025, driven by economic policy changes and the long-term benefits of generative AI on search services [8] Financial Performance Summary - For 2023, Baidu's total revenue was RMB 134.6 billion, with a year-on-year growth of 8.83%. The net profit attributable to shareholders was RMB 20.3 billion, reflecting a significant increase of 168.75% [1] - The forecast for 2024 shows a slight decline in total revenue to RMB 133.1 billion, with a projected net profit of RMB 23.8 billion, a 16.96% increase [1] - Non-GAAP net profit is expected to decrease from RMB 27 billion in 2023 to RMB 25.4 billion in 2025, with a corresponding Non-GAAP PE of 9 times [9]