A research report by Huatai Securities indicates that Baidu's (BIDU.US) third quarter revenue was RMB33.6 billion, down 2.6% YoY, the acceleration was basically in line with expectations, Non-GAAP net profit was $5.9 billion, corresponding to a non-GAAP net profit of 17.5%, a decrease of 3.6 percentage points year-on-year, according to the forecast, the main factor Foreign exchange loss. The group recommends focusing on Baidu's AI search commercialization process, as well as the pace of recovery in advertising business demand. Baidu AI contributed to continued strong growth, but while fundamentals were stable, the bank maintained a “buy” rating, with the US equity target price falling from $133.7 to $119.8.

Considering that the AI search overhaul is still taking time and IQ.US revenue growth is slower than expected, the bank lowered the company's non-GAAP net profit forecast for 2024 to 2026 by 8%, 3.5% and 2.8%, respectively, to $25.5 billion, $28.2 billion and $30.6 billion, respectively, and lowered its revenue forecasts for the period 0.8%, 0.9% and 0.9%, with non-GAAP net profit margin forecast lowered to 19.3%, 19.8% and 20.3, respectively %。