Baidu's AI now drives 52% of revenue amid strong growth and $5B buyback plan

Baidu has shifted its business focus from a traditional search engine to an AI-driven platform, with AI now accounting for 52% of its General Business revenue. Key growth areas include AI Cloud Infrastructure revenue up 79% year-over-year, GPU Cloud up 184%, and autonomous rides via Apollo Go growing 120%. Despite facing negative free cash flow and margin pressure due to heavy AI investments, Baidu maintains a strong balance sheet and has announced its first dividend along with a $5 billion stock buyback. The company is viewed as undervalued compared to peers, with potential for significant re-rating if its AI initiatives scale profitably.