$BIDU-SW (09888.HK)$ Announce the financial performance for the third quarter of 2024. In the third quarter of 2024, total revenue was 33.6 billion yuan, with Baidu's core revenue at 26.5 billion yuan, roughly flat compared to last year; online marketing revenue was 18.8 billion yuan, a 4% decrease year-on-year; and non-online marketing revenue was 7.7 billion yuan, a 12% increase year-on-year, mainly driven by the asia vets cloud business.

In the third quarter, operating profit was RMB 5.9 billion. Baidu's core operating profit was RMB 5.7 billion, with Baidu's core operating profit margin at 21%. The operating profit under non-GAAP was RMB 7 billion. The non-GAAP Baidu's core operating profit was RMB 6.7 billion, and the non-GAAP Baidu's core operating profit margin was 25%. The net income attributable to Baidu was RMB 7.6 billion, with diluted earnings per American depositary share at RMB 21.60. The net income attributable to Baidu's core was RMB 7.5 billion, with Baidu's core net income margin at 28%. The net income attributable to Baidu under non-GAAP was RMB 5.9 billion.

In terms of corporate operation, ai cloud: As of November 2024, Baidu PaddlePaddle and Wenxin ecosystem have gathered 18.1 million developers; in November 2024, the average daily API call volume processed by Wenxin series models reached 1.5 billion times, significantly up from 0.6 billion times in August; in the third quarter of 2024, Baidu expanded the Wenxin series models, launching two enhanced lightweight models, Speed Pro and Lite Pro; according to the market report on China's ai public cloud released by IDC in August 2024, Baidu's ai cloud has remained the number one in the AI cloud service market for five consecutive years. For self-driving cars: In the third quarter of 2024, Baidu's autonomous driving service, Luobo Kuaiyun, provided 0.988 million self-driving orders, a year-on-year increase of 20%. As of October 28, 2024, Luobo Kuaiyun has provided over 8 million self-driving travel service orders to the public; in the third quarter of 2024, the total volume of fully autonomous driving orders from Luobo Kuaiyun accounted for over 70% of the national total; by October 2024, the proportion of fully autonomous driving orders further increased to 80%; our sixth-generation self-driving car RT6 has been operating on public roads in multiple cities across china. In the mobile ecosystem: As of September 2024, Baidu APP's monthly active users reached 0.704 billion, a year-on-year increase of 6%; managed page revenue accounted for 51% of Baidu's core online marketing business revenue in the third quarter of 2024.

As of September 30, 2024, cash, cash equivalents, restricted funds, and short-term investments were RMB 144.5 billion, and cash, cash equivalents, restricted funds, and short-term investments (excluding iqiyi) were RMB 140.3 billion. Free cash flow was RMB 2.6 billion, and free cash flow (excluding iqiyi) was RMB 2.4 billion.

Since the beginning of the third quarter of 2024, Baidu's share repurchase amount was USD 0.161 billion, and the cumulative repurchase amount under the 2023 repurchase plan reached approximately USD 1.4 billion.

"Baidu's core third quarter revenue remained flat year-on-year, reflecting our online marketing business continues to be weak, but offset by the growth of the ai cloud computing service business. Our strong ai capabilities are gaining broader market recognition, and the increasing usage of Wenxin is proof. In the field of self-driving cars, Luobo Kuaiyun continues to lead the global self-driving travel service market, and the sixth-generation self-driving car RT6 has been operating on public roads in multiple cities across china, setting new milestones," said Baidu co-founder and CEO Robin Li. "Despite facing short-term pressures, we remain committed to our ai-centric strategy and are confident about our long-term development trends. As we further scale our ai capabilities, we are more confident in exploring how ai can drive innovation and create value for consumers, businesses, and society as a whole."

"Our continued focus on cost control has laid the foundation for the third quarter performance." "Thanks to our successful optimization of costs and achieving greater cost efficiency across business units, Baidu's core operating profit margin has remained stable," said Baidu's acting chief financial officer He Junjie. "The ai cloud continues to maintain healthy and sustainable growth in the third quarter. Meanwhile, Luobo Kuaiyun has continually made significant progress in operation, reinforcing our confidence in the effectiveness of the fully autonomous driving service business model."