Out Fox The $treet

Updated - Nov. 15, 2024 Despite leadership in AI and robotaxis in China, Baidu trades right back down to historical support around $80. The stock has now dipped $30 following the volatile move on hope for the Chinese government to fully stimulate the economy.  Update - Aug. 22, 2024 Baidu didn't report anything impressive from robotaxis or AI yet during Q2. The big robotaxi ramp up in Wuhan hasn't started yet. The stock did hold the key $80 support level.  Q2 Non-GAAP EPADS of $2.89 beats by $0.29. Revenue of $4.67B (flat Y/Y) misses by $70M. Adjusted EBITDA was $1.26 billion and adjusted EBITDA margin was 27%.  Adjusted EBITDA for Baidu Core was $1.19 billion and adjusted EBITDA margin for Baidu Core was 32%. Free cash flow was $862 million, and free cash flow excluding iQIYI was $810 million. Original article posted on Aug. 18 Baidu trades at levels first seen in 2011 despite strong growth catalysts. The Chinese search leader will report Q2 earnings on August 22, reveal...

Update - Dec. 27 China setting up for a big recovery in 2023 in a very bullish sign of a big rebound in the business of Baidu.  -Alibaba ( NYSE: BABA ), JD.com ( NASDAQ: JD ), Baidu ( NASDAQ: BIDU ) and several other Chinese tech stocks rose in premarket trading on Tuesday as the country eased up on restrictions for international travelers and continued to  remove the majority of its zero-COVID policies that have plagued the country's economy. -On Monday, the National Health Commission said it would no longer require inbound travelers to head into quarantine, starting January 8. Instead, travelers entering China will have to show a negative PCR test 48 hours before entering the country. -COVID-19 was also downgraded to a Category B virus, down from a Category A level, the commission added, as it has become less virulent and likely to become a common respiratory virus. Original article published on Dec. 26.  Baidu should see a rebound in the digital ad market similar to th...

  Baidu faces a delisting risk due to the HFCA Act where U.S. regulators want access to Chinese audits. The company has 2 more years to meet audit requirements. The stock is exceptionally cheap at only 9x forward EBITDA estimates due to a massive cash balance. This idea was discussed in more depth with members of my private investing community, Out Fox The Street.  Learn More » Over the last month, the Chinese stocks have traded in a wild fashion due to fears the shares will be delisted from U.S. stock exchanges. The risks to  Baidu  ( NASDAQ: BIDU ) appear far over stated. My  investment thesis  remains very Bullish on the Chinese tech stock leading in autonomous vehicle technology, but Baidu definitely faces a volatile few years. Read the full article on Seeking Alpha.  Disclosure: Long BIDU. Please see the disclosure page for more details.  Update - Apr. 29 Big AV news for Baidu. The stock just isn't valued for this division.  Baidu ( NAS...

Baidu stemmed the massive downturn due to better than expected Q2 results. The Chinese search giant isn't predicting Q3 results worthy of a major stock rally. The company is positioned to thrive when the Chinese economy rebounds. The stock trades at an insane 1.5x EV/S. Following  strong Q2 results  for the Chinese internet stocks focused on ad revenue,  Baidu  ( BIDU ) is likely stuck at resistance near $115. Despite the stock trading far below the $180 levels from back in April, the macro headwinds and market dynamics in internet search aren't likely to provide the growth necessarily for a stock rally until resolution of the Chinese trade war. Ultimately, the insane stock value will make one want to own Baidu on a trade war resolution. Read the full article on Seeking Alpha.  More commentary - Out Fox The $treet - August 20  Disclosure: Long BIDU. Please review the disclaimer page for more details. 

Google CEO confirmed the company wasn't planning on entering the Chinese search market. Oddly, Baidu ended down on the day despite this bullish news. The stock trades at only 13.5x '20 EPS estimates despite double the growth rate. Baidu   ( BIDU ) remains one of the more perplexing stocks in the market. Despite a blooming Chinese internet sector, the market always has an excuse for avoiding the stock. My long-term   investment thesis   hasn't changed, and the stock only becomes a better bargain on every dip. Read the full article on Seeking Alpha. 

Baidu continues to slump to multi-year lows. The Chinese company has growth opportunities outside internet search in voice assistants and self-driving cars, among others. The stock remains exceptionally cheap in the large-cap technology sector as margins rebound with the exit of transaction-related businesses. The general weakness in Chinese tech stocks provides a substantial opportunity for a stock like Baidu ( BIDU ). The internet search leader in China has in-roads to new technologies and the Chinese economy is still transitioning online while the economy is growing at one of the fastest rates in the world. My investment research continues to support buying weakness in the stock, especially on irrational fears related to Google ( GOOG , GOOGL ) entering the Chinese internet search market. Read the full article on Seeking Alpha. 

Baidu trades down $25 due to the departure of the COO from daily activities. The company has a long history of growth without the involvement of Qi Lu. The stock continues to trade favorably to domestic peers despite massive margins. Despite being a dominant player in the fast-growing internet space in China,  Baidu  ( BIDU ) consistently trades at a discount to American peers. The departure of a key executive and an analyst downgrade provide another gift to own this stock on a $25 dip and at levels from back in 2014. Read the full article at Seeking Alpha.  Disclosure: Long BIDU. Please review the disclaimer page for more details. 

iQIYI expects to go public next week. The Chinese online video leader seems overlooked by the market in comparison to other high-profile IPOs. The proposed offering price is attractive and the focus on Chinese tariffs could hold back the IPO excitement. As the market focuses on streaming video and music services in the U.S., a fast-growing opportunity is opening up in China. The potentially under the radar IPO of  iQIYI  ( IQ ), majority-owned by Chinese search giant  Baidu  ( BIDU ), provides an opportunity as the market focuses on more high profile public offerings and Chinese stocks face tariff related weaknesses. Read the full article at Seeking Alpha.  Disclosure: Long BIDU. Please review this disclaimer page for more details. 

Baidu remains a hidden tech giant in a market of $500 billion global giants. The Chinese search leader is returning to 30% revenue growth. The company has several hidden assets that the market is currently not ascribing any value. After a few years in self-imposed purgatory due to surging costs on new initiatives,  Baidu  (NASDAQ: BIDU ) is finally back to generating the massive profits from substantial revenue growth of the past. The combination of dumping the high-cost services businesses and a return to a healthy search market has the internet search giant of China back onto a path to higher stock prices. Read the full article on Seeking Alpha.  Disclosure: Long BIDU. Read the disclaimer page for more details. 

Baidu reported Q1 results that beat estimates. The company returned to revenue growth after two quarters of declines following the new Internet advertising laws in China. The valuation gap with Alphabet has grown incredibly large suggesting the soon-to-be faster growing Baidu has plenty of upside. The  Q1 '17 results  prove that  Baidu  (NASDAQ: BIDU ) is finally emerging from a nearly yearlong bout with tighter Internet advertising regulations in China. The requirement to verify online marketing accounts set the business back nearly a year. Please see the full article on Seeking Alpha.  Disclosure: Long Baidu. Please see the disclosure page for more details. 

Baidu reports mixed results for Q2 while the market focuses on the length of the regulatory impacts. The stock continues to trade favorably to domestic Internet companies not facing short-term regulatory impacts. A couple of catalysts will provide ultimate upside for the stock once this difficult period passes. Tighter regulation in China continues to impact  Baidu  (NASDAQ: BIDU ) at the same time that  Facebook  (NASDAQ: FB ) and  Alphabet  (NASDAQ: GOOG )(NASDAQ: GOOGL ) are still experiencing explosive growth. The global economy continues shifting aggressively to digital and especially mobile advertising that should ultimately benefit Baidu. Read the full article at Seeking Alpha.  Disclosure: Long BIDU. Please review the disclaimer page for more details. 

Baidu continues building a dominant position in the mobile search market in China. The market has several catalysts that will naturally grow the opportunity for the stock. Baidu remains attractively valued in comparison to other Internet giants. After about a year of going nowhere, Baidu (NASDAQ: BIDU ) appears ripe to build on the recent rally from early May. The Chinese Internet search giant remains a mostly underappreciated stock despite many catalysts for growth. The stock sits around $207, a level that is toward the bottom of the range for the last year. Read the full article on Seeking Alpha. Disclosure: Long BIDU. Please review the disclaimer page for more details. 

Summary Baidu easily exceeded Q214 earnings estimates. The stock trades at a favorable valuation with multiple expansion. Chinese search stocks in general remain cheap. When last covering Baidu (NASDAQ: BIDU ) , the stock was under pressure due to fears over SEC bans on auditors in China. At the time in January of 2013, the stock slipped below $160 before an eventual bottom near $140 that April. Investors were encouraged to focus on mobile search growth and ignore the over flamed SEC concerns. Fast-forward to today and the stock is surging beyond $225 based on fast mobile growth. The crazy part is that investors might not be too late to invest in this story. Read the full article at Seeking Alpha. Disclosure: Long BIDU. Please review the disclaimer page for more details. 

The recent SEC announcement that it had banned the Big Four accounting firms' Chinese joint ventures from auditing US listed stocks sent chills through Chinese ADRs. From Baidu ( BIDU ) to Ctrip.com ( CTRP ), investors fled the stocks to the tune of losses in the 6% range. With limited political will and possibly years of appeals and reviews, investors should focus more on the prospects of the individual stocks instead of unlikely SEC sanctions. In the case of Baidu, high-speed mobile networks are replacing the previously spotty Internet connections in China. One of the prime reasons that Chinese people prefer the larger screen size phones, or phablets, is the lack of good Internet access at home or even a reliable PC. All of this adds up to a huge pressure to obtain market share in the mobile sector with China Mobile ( CHL ) ramping up implementation of a 4G LTE network providing its customer base of 750 million subscribers access to the fastest Internet speed...

Only a month ago,  Baidu (NASDAQ: BIDU ) was struggling to stay above $90 as the company faced margin and competitive pressures from the shift toward mobile internet usage and more specifically, mobile search, that it doesn’t dominate like desktop search. The leading Chinese search provider has increased operating expenses in order to expand research and development and marketing in order to build out the mobile products and to publicize more » Disclosure: Long BIDU. Please review the disclaimer page for more details. 

With the transition to mobile search around the world, it probably shouldn’t be too surprising that Baidu (NASDAQ: BIDU ) has struggled over the last year. In fact, the dominant player in Chinese search faces a bigger issue as the Chinese move quicker towards mobile. The China Internet Network Information Center reported that the total online population rose to 591 million with wireless users surging to 464 million. The percentage more » Disclosure: Long BIDU. Read the full disclaimer page for more details. 

After a disappointing year it appears that Baidu (BIDU) is finally waking up. The stock has been in a major downtrend since peaking last April over $150. The stock has been a favorite of Stone Fox Capital over the last couple of months as the it dropped below $90. It currently trades at only 16x greatly reduced forward estimates. With the China internet sector still in the early days, investors can purchase the preeminent search engine in that massive country on the cheap. For comparative purposes, BIDU is worth only $36B while Google (GOOG) now approaches $300B. No doubt should exist that BIDU will approach the valuations of GOOG as the China internet market grows up. Disclosure: Long BIDU. Please review the disclaimer page for more details. 

A common theory in the technology world is the concept of investing for the future. Typically, these phases take place prior to a company going public, but lately several large-cap techs have started campaigns to dramatically increase expenses to capture mobile growth. Ironically, the market has chosen to punish one stock while giving the other a big pass. Not to mention, the mobile transition has been a constant profit disruption to most major firms, as the initial traffic flows don't offset the lower monetization levels. Over the last couple of weeks, both Baidu (BIDU) and Facebook (FB) have reported that margins were greatly impacted by ramped up spending for mobile. The only difference is that Facebook continues heading to recent highs while Baidu languishes at multi-year lows, appearing as if the stock might head much lower. Read the full article at Seeking Alpha. Disclosure: Long BIDU. Please review the disclaimer page. 

Based on the post earnings sell-off of Baidu ( BIDU ) , investors now get the opportunity to buy the market leader in the explosive Chinese market at a substantial discount to growth potential. While investors fret over the increased costs and the transition to mobile search, they missed the big picture that mobile will eventually lead to much higher traffic for a country with only 42% Internet penetration. The company is the leading Chinese language Internet search provider with over 70% market share. As mentioned prior to earnings on February 4th, the company is an extreme value with strong growth potential. The stock reached close to all-time highs last April around $150 and a market value of $55B. The stock fell off the China cliff until December and has returned back to those levels since the recent sell-off. While investors mull over more competition from Qihoo 360 Technology ( QIHU ), the real issue remains a market transition outside of the control of the comp...

Through April of this year, Baidu, Inc. (BIDU) was one of the hottest tech properties in the investment world. The stock of the leading Chinese language internet search provider reached close to all time highs around $150 and a market value of $55B. Now the stock appears to be falling off the China cliff. Not only is the stock facing less and less investor appetite for Chinese stocks, but now the fears are growing that all Chinese stocks face delisting possibilities due to audit issues. While the S&P 500 remained close to recent highs on Wednesday, Baidu again plunged to a new 52 week low. Other issues continue to pop up over the conversion to mobile reducing the click through rate (CTR) and more competition from Qihoo 360 Technology (QIHU) . All of these issues have pushed the stock down to a very cheap valuation with a PEG near 0.5. Read the full article at Seeking Alpha. Disclosure: No positions mentioned. Please review the disclaimer page for more details.