Baidu, Inc. (NASDAQ: BIDU) has emerged as a leading player among the Buzzing AI Stocks on Wall Street. In a recent update on September 19, Goldman Sachs analyst Lincoln Kong increased the price target for the stock from $90.00 to $154.00, while maintaining a ‘Buy’ rating. This upward adjustment emphasizes the analysts’ acknowledgment of Baidu’s current position in the market.
Current market sentiments have factored in a noted decline in Baidu’s core profitability, particularly anticipating significant drops in earnings by Q3 2025. However, investor attention appears to be shifting towards Baidu’s rapidly expanding non-search business sectors, with a strong focus on cloud computing and AI technologies.
Goldman Sachs also expressed optimistic views on Baidu’s Apollo Robotaxi service, pointing to a quicker rollout, cost efficiencies, and prospects for global expansion as key factors for potential growth.
“We reassess the fast-growing non-search business to factor in the AI accelerants. We estimate that by 2027, non-search revenue will constitute 54% of Baidu’s core revenue, with cloud services accounting for 36%. Baidu Cloud’s primary strength lies in its full stack capabilities, encompassing everything from chips and platforms to AI-enhanced software applications. We are increasing the target multiple to 5X Price/Sales to better align with growth potential and peer valuations. Our positive outlook extends to Apollo Robotaxi, noting its rapid fleet expansion, larger total addressable market (TAM), better profitability due to reduced bill of materials (BOM) costs for the RT6 vehicle, along with promising international growth opportunities. Additionally, with proactive initiatives aimed at enhancing shareholder buybacks and dividends, we are now incorporating the entirety of net cash and long-term investments into our sum-of-the-parts (SOTP) valuation.”
Baidu is known not just as a Chinese internet leader, but also as an AI innovator, particularly noted for its significant investments in AI technologies and its dominance as the leading search engine in China.
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