BIDU(09888) 华泰证券·2025-05-22 07:45Investment Rating - The report maintains a "Buy" rating for Baidu Group with a target price of HKD 99.50 and USD 102.20 [7][28]. Core Insights - Baidu's total revenue for Q1 2025 reached RMB 32.5 billion, a year-on-year increase of 3.0%, driven by strong growth in AI cloud revenue [1]. - The proportion of AI cloud revenue in Baidu's core income increased by 6.5 percentage points year-on-year to 26.1%, while advertising revenue's share declined by 8.7 percentage points [1]. - The report emphasizes the need to monitor the sustainability of AI cloud revenue growth and the recovery pace of core advertising revenue [1]. Summary by Sections Financial Performance - Baidu's core revenue grew by 7.0% year-on-year to RMB 25.5 billion, primarily due to better-than-expected AI cloud revenue [2]. - Advertising revenue decreased by 6.1% year-on-year to RMB 16.0 billion, attributed to moderate demand from advertisers and the impact of AI search transformation [2]. - Non-advertising revenue increased by 39.6% year-on-year to RMB 9.5 billion, with AI cloud revenue growing by 42% year-on-year to RMB 6.7 billion [2]. Business Transformation - Management reported that 35% of Baidu's search results in April included AI-generated content, up from 22% in January, indicating a proactive approach to AI transformation [3]. - The Baidu app's monthly active users (MAU) reached 724 million in March 2025, a 7% year-on-year increase, suggesting improved user experience [3]. - The "LuoBo Kuaipao" autonomous driving service has expanded internationally, with orders reaching 1.4 million in Q1 2025, a 75% year-on-year increase [3]. Profitability Forecast and Valuation - The report adjusts Baidu's non-GAAP net profit forecasts for 2025, 2026, and 2027 down by 6.8%, 5.7%, and 3.6% to RMB 25.2 billion, RMB 28.5 billion, and RMB 30.9 billion respectively, mainly due to lower expectations for high-margin advertising revenue [4][24]. - The target price is based on a sum-of-the-parts (SOTP) valuation, reflecting a decrease from previous estimates due to the ongoing challenges in the advertising business [4][28]. Segment Valuation - The valuation for Baidu's core advertising business is set at USD 47.5 per ADS, based on a 5.0x 2025 PE, which is below the industry average of 13.9x [28]. - The AI cloud segment is valued at USD 46.2 per ADS, based on a 4.0x 2025 PS, reflecting strong revenue growth and improving profit margins [29].