Chinese technology giant Baidu on Tuesday, November 21, announced the financial results of its activities for the third quarter of 2023.
The revenue received by the mentioned company for the period from July to September amounted to 34.45 billion yuan ($4.72 billion). This indicator is 6% higher than the result recorded for the third quarter of last year. Analysts predicted that the company’s revenue from July to September would be 34.33 billion yuan.
The value of the tech giant’s shares listed in the United States rose by about 2% in pre-market trade on Tuesday. As of the current moment, the company’s securities have fallen in price by almost 3% compared to the figures recorded at the end of 2022.
The tech giant’s online marketing revenues grew by 5% year-on-year in the third quarter. Revenue from marketing outside the virtual space has also increased. In this case, the growth rate is 6% year-on-year.
The positive dynamic of Baidu’s financial results from July to September is good news, but it does not negate the fact that the rate of increase in profitability has decreased. According to the results of the second quarter of 2023, the tech giant’s revenue grew by 15% year-on-year. The company’s marketing revenues increased by double digits during this period.
Robin Li, CEO and co-founder of Baidu, said that the tech giant’s results demonstrate its resilience during difficult economic conditions.
The company’s net profit from July to September was fixed at 6.68 billion yuan. In the previous quarter, this figure was equal to 5.21 billion yuan.
From July to September, the company spent 6.1 billion yuan on research and development. This figure is 6% higher than the volumes of expenditures for the relevant purposes that were recorded for the same period in 2022. In part, the growth dynamic is due to an increase in server fees to support the research of Ernie bot, a chatbot based on artificial intelligence. The company started charging for the use of this digital product in November.
Rong Luo, chief financial officer of Baidu, said that the firm will continue to prioritize investments in machine intelligence, especially in the basic models of advanced technology and its configurations capable of generating content.
As we have reported earlier, Baidu Creates $140 Million Fund to Back ChatGPT-Like Startups.
