Baidu’s decline: the key facts

Baidu’s Silicon Valley AI Lab is based in Sunnyvale, California. Photo credit: Tech in Asia.

The recent high-profile departures at Chinese search giant Baidu have put a spotlight on the company’s flagging fortunes. Here are the key facts:

• Revenue growth slowed to 6.3 percent in 2016. It was 35 percent in 2015 and 54 percent in 2014. Baidu’s net profit fell 65 percent last year, while its market cap dropped 10 percent over the same period to US$58 billion.
• It’s now the least valuable of China’s famed BAT. Alibaba is valued at US$273 billion. Tencent is worth US$274 billion.
• Baidu’s no longer the clear leader in China’s internet advertising market. Its market share last year is at 25 percent. It was 32 percent in 2013. Meanwhile, Alibaba is rising fast. It now captures 24 percent of the market, up from 16 percent in 2013.
• Baidu hasn’t successfully broadened beyond search. It invested into building an app store, as well as movie ticketing and food delivery businesses. But Baidu’s employees are starting to view these as poor investment decisions, affecting morale.

Source: The Information (paywall)

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