百度集團-SW: 24Q2點評：AI智能雲加速迭代，重視AI時代價值重估

百度2024Q2業績概覽：百度Q2總收入339億元，同比0%；Non-GAAP經營利潤75億元，同比+2%。

百度Core：24Q2百度Core收入爲267億元，同比+1%；其中在線營銷收入192億元，同比-2%。主要因爲：宏觀經濟恢復不如預期，廣告客戶改善的可見性有限。我們預計在線營銷收入在未來幾個季度的增長有望保持基本穩固。 

非在線營銷收入75億元，同比+10%，主要由智能雲業務帶動；愛奇藝收入74億元，同比-5%。AI Cloud收入達51億元，同比+14%。增長主要由生成式 AI （gen-AI）和基礎模型驅動，生成式AI 收入佔總AI雲收入的 9%。我們認爲，隨着ERNIE 的採用不斷擴大，百度在基礎模型領域繼續取得重大進展，百度在 AI CLOUD 領域將有望保持領先。

24Q2E revenue had flat growth but profit ticked up; gen-AI the key driver 

Key metrics: Baidu’s unaudited 24Q2E results show flat yoy revenue at RMB33.9bn, while it nudged up non-GAAP operating income by 2% yoy to RMB7.5bn.

Segmental revenues:

•Core businesses increased revenue by 1% yoy to RMB26.7bn in 24Q2E, comprising:

-Online marketing contributed RMB19.2bn, 2% less yoy, which the company attributes to a softer-than-expected macroeconomic recovery and poor advertiser growth visibility. From here, we anticipate stable online marketing revenue growth in the coming quarters.

-Non-online marketing generated revenue of RMB7.5bn, up 10% yoy, mainly driven by the smart cloud business.

•iQIYI contributed revenue of RMB7.4bn, down 5% yoy. 

Key driver: the AI cloud business increased revenue by 14% yoy to RMB5.1bn in the quarter, mostly from generative AI (gen-AI) foundation models at 9% of AI cloud revenue. 

Profit: non-GAAP operating profit was RMB7.5bn in 24Q2E, including RMB7bn from core businesses; while operating profit margin was 26%.

Outlook: with increasing adoption of Baidu’s Ernie large language model (LLM) and advances at its foundation models, we believe Baidu will sustain its AI cloud leadership.

公司正在利用獨特的四層 AI 技術棧優化升級 ERNIE 模型。我們看好百度在發展LLM和 Gen AI上的優勢，以及通過技術創新改進模型表現、推動人工智能貨幣化的潛力。整體流量方面，據公司公告披露，百度 6月平均月活爲 7.03億，同比+4%。搜索佔比方面，搜索結果頁面中包含生成內容的比例已由5月中旬的11%上升至18%，當搜索結果已經能夠滿足用戶當前查詢的需求時，Gen AI將推薦其他內容或服務進一步增強用戶的使用時間和留存率。我們認爲運營上百度搜索的改進將提升面向消費者的產品規模。

利潤端：2024Q2Non-GAAP運營利潤75億元，其中百度Core爲70億元，運營利潤率26%。

AI business: Ernie LLM upgrades and four-layer AI technology stack applications

We believe Baidu has the ability to develop LLMs and gen-AI, and we are bullish about its LLM upgrade and AI monetization prospects via tech innovations. We note these major indicators:

•User traffic: monthly active users averaged 703m in June, up 4% yoy, according to the company’s Q2E results report released in 22 Aug. 

•Search ratio: the proportion of content-generated search results pages increased to 18% from 11% in mid-May. When search results have met users’ query requirements, gen-AI would go on to recommend other content or services to enhance usage time and retention rates. We expect search query improvements will expand the scale of consumer-interface products.

智能駕駛：據百度季報會議內容，百度的自動駕駛服務蘿蔔快跑在24Q2供應的自動駕駛訂單約爲89.9萬單，同比+26%。截至2024年7月28日，蘿蔔快跑累計爲公衆提供的自動駕駛出行服務超過7百萬單。

百度在2024年6月推出了ERNIE4.0Turbo，擴展了ERNIE的型號，與ERNIE4.0相比運行速度更快，成本更低。同時，蘿蔔快跑在其最大的營運城市武漢市提供100%的完全無人駕駛營運，標誌着一個重要的里程碑。第六代機器人出租車RT6也在進行可擴展測試。

Smart driving: Apollo Go marked 100% driverless ride-hailing milestone in Wuhan

7m orders: Apollo Go fulfilled about 899,000 autonomous driving orders in 24Q2, a yoy increase of 26%. Baidu’s driverless ride-hailing service has provided over 7m orders to the general public as of 28 July 2024.

Wuhan fully driverless: the launch of Ernie 4.0 Turbo in June 2024 accelerated the LLM processing speed and cut cost vs the Ernie 4.0. In the same month, Apollo Go marked the milestone of 100% fully driverless operations in Wuhan, its largest operating city. Meanwhile, scalable tests started for the sixth-generation of robotaxis (RT6).