We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience.
This includes personalizing content and advertising.
By pressing "Accept All" or closing out of this banner, you consent to the use of all cookies and similar technologies and the sharing of information they collect with third parties.
You can reject marketing cookies by pressing "Deny Optional," but we still use essential, performance, and functional cookies.
In addition, whether you "Accept All," Deny Optional," click the X or otherwise continue to use the site, you accept our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service, revised from time to time.
You are being directed to ZacksTrade, a division of LBMZ Securities and licensed broker-dealer. ZacksTrade and Zacks.com are separate companies. The web link between the two companies is not a solicitation or offer to invest in a particular security or type of security. ZacksTrade does not endorse or adopt any particular investment strategy, any analyst opinion/rating/report or any approach to evaluating individual securities.
If you wish to go to ZacksTrade, click OK. If you do not, click Cancel.
Today’s Bear of the Day is a stock that actually looks great on paper. The problem is, for whatever reason, there has been a continued discount priced into the stock due to risks far beyond the company’s control. It operates in a high-margin, high-growth area of the market but because it’s in China, the US investor simply has not gotten on board.
I’m talking about Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell) Baidu ((BIDU - Free Report) ). Baidu is in the Internet – Services industry that actually ranks in the Top 40% of our Zacks Industry Rank. Baidu has long been viewed as China's answer to Google, but that comparison has become increasingly difficult to justify.
While the company remains dominant in Chinese search, the business that once generated dependable cash flow is no longer the growth engine it used to be. China's advertising market remains sluggish, businesses continue to spend cautiously, and competition from short-form video platforms and AI-powered search alternatives is steadily eroding Baidu's core franchise. Investors hoping AI would reignite growth have instead watched revenue remain largely stagnant while margins come under pressure.
The company's AI ambitions are substantial, but they're also expensive. Baidu has poured billions into its ERNIE large language model, autonomous driving platform Apollo, and AI cloud infrastructure. Unfortunately, those investments have yet to generate the kind of returns that justify the spending. Meanwhile, rivals including Alibaba, Tencent, ByteDance, and DeepSeek continue to intensify the AI arms race, making it increasingly difficult for Baidu to establish a durable competitive advantage. In AI, being first doesn't necessarily mean winning.
Over the course of the last week alone, two analysts have dropped their earnings estimates for the current year and next year. The bearish moves have pushed down our Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year from $8.37 to $6.82 while next year’s number is off from $10.63 to $9.29. There are other stocks within the Internet – Services industry which are in the good graces of our Zacks Rank. These include Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) Alphabet ((GOOG - Free Report) ) and Shopify ((SHOP - Free Report) ).
View the Zacks #1 Rank List
Image: Bigstock
Bear of the Day: Baidu (BIDU)
Today’s Bear of the Day is a stock that actually looks great on paper. The problem is, for whatever reason, there has been a continued discount priced into the stock due to risks far beyond the company’s control. It operates in a high-margin, high-growth area of the market but because it’s in China, the US investor simply has not gotten on board.
I’m talking about Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell) Baidu ((BIDU - Free Report) ). Baidu is in the Internet – Services industry that actually ranks in the Top 40% of our Zacks Industry Rank. Baidu has long been viewed as China's answer to Google, but that comparison has become increasingly difficult to justify.
While the company remains dominant in Chinese search, the business that once generated dependable cash flow is no longer the growth engine it used to be. China's advertising market remains sluggish, businesses continue to spend cautiously, and competition from short-form video platforms and AI-powered search alternatives is steadily eroding Baidu's core franchise. Investors hoping AI would reignite growth have instead watched revenue remain largely stagnant while margins come under pressure.
Baidu, Inc. Price and Consensus
Baidu, Inc. price-consensus-chart | Baidu, Inc. Quote
The company's AI ambitions are substantial, but they're also expensive. Baidu has poured billions into its ERNIE large language model, autonomous driving platform Apollo, and AI cloud infrastructure. Unfortunately, those investments have yet to generate the kind of returns that justify the spending. Meanwhile, rivals including Alibaba, Tencent, ByteDance, and DeepSeek continue to intensify the AI arms race, making it increasingly difficult for Baidu to establish a durable competitive advantage. In AI, being first doesn't necessarily mean winning.
Over the course of the last week alone, two analysts have dropped their earnings estimates for the current year and next year. The bearish moves have pushed down our Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year from $8.37 to $6.82 while next year’s number is off from $10.63 to $9.29. There are other stocks within the Internet – Services industry which are in the good graces of our Zacks Rank. These include Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) Alphabet ((GOOG - Free Report) ) and Shopify ((SHOP - Free Report) ).