Baidu Inc (NASDAQ: NASDAQ:BIDU) reported fourth-quarter FY21 revenue growth of 9% year-on-year to $5.19 billion, beating the consensus of $5.09 billion.
Segments: Baidu Core revenue increased 12% Y/Y to $4.08 billion as Online marketing revenue expanded 1% Y/Y to $3 billion, Non-online marketing revenue jumped 63% Y/Y to $1.08 billion, driven by cloud and other AI-powered businesses, and Revenue from iQIYI decreased 1% Y/Y to $1.16 billion, beating the consensus of $1.15 billion. iQIYI subscribers reached 99 million in December 2021.
The SG&A rose 27% Y/Y, and R&D expenses increased 30% Y/Y from higher channel spending, promotional, and personnel-related expenses.
Margins: Baidu's adjusted EBITDA margin contracted 1,100 bps to 17%. Baidu Core's adjusted EBITDA margin declined 1,700 bps to 24%.
Baidu's Non-GAAP earnings per ADS of $1.82 beat the consensus of $1.38.
Baidu held $29.96 billion in cash and equivalents and generated $75 million in free cash flow.
"Baidu concluded a solid 2021, evidenced by a strong growth in our non-advertising business, particularly the acceleration of Baidu AI Cloud. We brought our AI capabilities to China's traditional industries and public service sector to aid in the improvement of their efficiency and operational expansion. Furthermore, Apollo Go provided around 213,000 rides in the fourth quarter, almost doubling sequentially, reaffirming our leadership position in the global autonomous ride-hailing market," said Robin Li, Co-founder and CEO.
Price Action: BIDU shares traded higher by 3.58% at $157.98 in the premarket session on the last check Tuesday.
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