Baidu released its unaudited financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2021. In the third quarter, Baidu posted revenue of 31.9 billion yuan, exceeding market expectations, representing a 13% year-on-year increase. Baidu reported a net loss of RMB16.559 billion in the third quarter, which included a non-cash fair value loss of RMB18.9 billion on long-term investments due to quarterly fair value adjustments.
Specifically, Baidu Core revenue was RMB24.7 billion (US$3.83 billion), representing a year-on-year increase of 15%; online marketing revenue was RMB19.5 billion (US$3.02 billion), representing a year-on-year increase of 6%; revenue from non-online marketing was RMB5.2 billion (US$806 million), representing an increase of 76% year-on-year, driven by cloud and other artificial intelligence-driven businesses; and revenue from Aiki Revenue was 7.6 billion RMB (US$1.18 billion), up 6 percent year-on-year.
On the expenditure side, Baidu spent RMB 6.2 billion on research and development in the third quarter, up 35 percent year-on-year. During the quarter, Baidu donated RMB90 million to natural disaster relief efforts in Henan province.
Apollo L4 covered over 16 million test kilometers for autonomous driving, an increase of 189% year on year. In terms of test qualifications, Baidu Apollo has obtained 411 licenses for autonomous driving tests.
In August, Baidu released its new enhanced self-driving travel service platform, Radish Express, to provide travel services to the public. The financial report shows that in the third quarter, the number of orders for unmanned car rides from Radish Express increased 1-fold, and users in Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Changsha, and Cangzhou were able to experience it.
In addition, Xiaodu continues to lead the market in smart home devices. According to Strategy Analytics, IDC, and Canalys, Xiaodu ranked first in global smart screen and Chinese smart speaker shipments in the second quarter of 2021.
In the third quarter, Baidu’s mobile ecosystem business saw solid growth. Monthly activity on the Baidu app reached 607 million, up 12% year-on-year, and the proportion of daily logged-in users reached a record high of 79%. The financial report shows that in the third quarter, hosted site revenue rose to 43% of Baidu’s core online marketing revenue, thanks to the continued expansion of marketing cloud services such as e-commerce features.
“Baidu has been heavily involved in AI for many years and has always been committed to breakthrough innovation in user services, enterprise services, and public services.” Baidu’s Chairman and CEO Robin Li said, “Baidu Smart Cloud can help enterprises improve customer service quality and efficiency, while Baidu Apollo’s active investment in intelligent transportation and smart driving will not only improve traffic efficiency, alleviate traffic congestion and reduce traffic accidents, but also drive the development of the electric vehicle industry. ”
Baidu’s Chief Financial Officer, Luo Rong, said, “In the third quarter, Baidu’s smart cloud revenue grew strongly by 73% year on year, leading to another good performance in Baidu’s core revenue. The diversified build-up of AI businesses such as smart cloud services, smart transportation, smart devices, smart electric vehicles, and self-driving mobility services will provide Baidu with a solid foundation for long-term growth.”