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Baidu (BIDU) to Report Q4 Earnings: What's in the Offing?

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Baidu, Inc. (BIDU - Free Report) is scheduled to report fourth-quarter 2023 results on Feb 28.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenues is pegged at $4.92 billion, indicating growth of 2.7% from the year-ago quarter’s reported figure.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings is pegged at $2.75 per share, suggesting 24.4% growth from the prior-year quarter’s reported figure. The estimated figure has moved downward by 4.8% over the past 30 days.

BIDU’s earnings beat estimates in the trailing four quarters, the average being 14.95%.

Baidu, Inc. Price and EPS Surprise

 

Baidu, Inc. Price and EPS Surprise

Baidu, Inc. price-eps-surprise | Baidu, Inc. Quote

Factors to Consider

Solid momentum across Baidu’s AI business is expected to have continued driving its top-line growth in the fourth quarter.

The company’s deepening focus on bolstering its capabilities in generative AI is expected to get reflected in the upcoming results. The growing momentum of ERNIE Bot across China is anticipated to have been a tailwind.

Strength across Baidu Cloud is likely to have been a key catalyst for the business.

The company’s sustained efforts to bolster the mobile search engine and AI tools are anticipated to have aided the fourth quarter performance. Solid momentum in Baidu's mobile ecosystem is expected to have aided growth in the average daily active user base of the Baidu App in the fourth quarter.

The positive impacts of Baidu’s expanding footprint in the autonomous driving space are expected to get reflected in the upcoming results.

The strong momentum of Apollo Go Robotaxi service across China, on the back of its increasing availability in several cities and a growing number of rides, is likely to have benefited the company in the quarter under review.

Baidu’s well-performing iQIYI segment, which offers online entertainment services, is expected to have contributed well to the to-be-reported quarter’s performance.

However, the impacts of higher promotional expenses and heavy spending on new growth areas are expected to have affected the company’s performance in the quarter under discussion.

Further, broad-based weakness in China is anticipated to have been a headwind.

What Our Model Says

Our proven model does not conclusively predict an earnings beat for Baidu this time around. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the odds of an earnings beat. But that is not the case here.
 
Baidu has an Earnings ESP of +8.93%. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

BIDU has a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).

Stocks to Consider

Here are some stocks worth considering, as our model shows that they have the right combination of elements to beat on earnings this time around.

The Gap (GPS - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +24.44% and sports a Zacks Rank #1 at present. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The Gap is set to announce fourth-quarter 2023 results on Mar 7. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for GPS’ earnings is pinned at 19 cents per share, indicating growth from the year-ago quarter’s reported loss of 75 cents per share.

Burlington Stores (BURL - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +1.27% and a Zacks Rank of 3 at present.
 
The company is set to announce fourth-quarter 2023 results on Mar 7. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for BURL’s earnings is pinned at $3.25 per share, indicating growth of 9.8% from the year-ago quarter’s reported figure.

Compugen (CGEN - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +451.63% and a Zacks Rank #2 at present.

Compugen is scheduled to release fourth-quarter 2023 results on Mar 5. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CGEN’s earnings is pegged at 10 cents per share, suggesting a jump from the prior-year quarter loss of 4 cents per share.

Stay on top of upcoming earnings announcements with the Zacks Earnings Calendar.


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