On the afternoon of February 28th Beijing time, Baidu released its financial reports for the fourth quarter and full year of 2023. Baidu's total revenue in 2023 reached 134.6 billion yuan, with a net profit attributable to Baidu (non GAAP) of 28.7 billion yuan, a significant increase of 39% year-on-year; In 2023, Baidu's annual revenue and profit exceeded market expectations.
After the financial report was released, Baidu's stock price rose before trading, with a 1% increase as of the time of publication.
Net profit of 28.7 billion yuan, with a year-on-year growth rate of 39%
The financial report shows that the total revenue in 2023 was 134.6 billion yuan (approximately 18.96 billion US dollars), an increase of 9% from 2022, and Baidu's net profit attributable to non GAAP was 28.7 billion yuan, a significant increase of 39% year-on-year. Baidu's core revenue was 103.465 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 8%, and the net profit attributable to Baidu's core (non GAAP) was 27.4 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 38%.
The revenue from online marketing was 75.1 billion yuan (approximately 10.58 billion US dollars), an increase of 8% compared to 2022; Non marketing revenue was 28.4 billion yuan (approximately 3.99 billion US dollars), an increase of 9% compared to 2022; The revenue from iQiyi was 31.9 billion yuan (approximately 4.49 billion US dollars), an increase of 10% from 2022; The revenue cost is 65 billion yuan (approximately 9.16 billion US dollars), an increase of 2% compared to 2022; Sales, general affairs, and administrative expenses amounted to 23.5 billion yuan (approximately 3.31 billion US dollars), an increase of 15% compared to 2022; The R&D expenditure was 24.2 billion yuan (approximately 3.41 billion US dollars), an increase of 4% compared to 2022.
Baidu's total revenue in the fourth quarter was 35 billion yuan (approximately 4.92 billion US dollars), a year-on-year increase of 6%. In the fourth quarter, Baidu's revenue from "Baidu Core" reached 27.5 billion yuan (approximately 3.87 billion US dollars), a year-on-year increase of 7%.
AI becomes a new driving force for growth
Robin Lee, founder, chairman and CEO of Baidu, said: "In 2023, we will make significant progress in iterating Wenxin's big model and ERNIE Bot's one word, restructuring products and services, and commercialization. At the same time, Baidu's core business will remain resilient and healthy. Looking ahead, we will continue to firmly invest in generative AI and basic models, laying the foundation for creating new growth engines."
Baidu CFO Luo Rong said, "Over the past year, we have continued to focus on improving operational efficiency; in 2024, we will continue to improve operational efficiency and achieve high-quality growth."
In 2023, the usage of ERNIE Bot and the API calls of Wenxin's big model will maintain rapid growth. Baidu launched ERNIE Bot on August 31 last year. Public data shows that by the end of December 2023, the number of ERNIE Bot users has exceeded 100 million; Robin Lee said in his speech in November last year that there are more than 200 major models in China, and "the call volume of Wenxin model is more than the total call volume of more than 200 major models." In the fourth quarter, China's Samsung, Glory, Home of Automobiles and other enterprises reached cooperation with Baidu.
At the same time, the application of Wenxin big model technology and PaddlePaddle community ecology form a synergy. The financial report shows that PaddlePaddle has gathered 10.7 million developers, served 235000 enterprises and institutions, and created 860000 models based on PaddlePaddle. In PaddlePaddle Xinghe Community, there are more than 4000 innovative applications based on ERNIE Bot, covering many scenes such as marketing, education and training, and intelligent office.
Boris Van, an analyst at Bernstein, said in a recent report that Baidu is improving its ERNIE Bot application.