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Baidu (BIDU) to Report Q4 Earnings: What's in the Offing?

Zacks Equity Research
·4 min read

Baidu, Inc. BIDU is scheduled to report fourth-quarter 2021 results on Mar 1.

For the fourth quarter, the company expects revenues between RMB 31 billion ($4.81 billion) and RMB 34 billion ($5.27 billion), suggesting a growth rate of 2-12% year over year.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenues is pegged at $5.15 billion, indicating growth of 11.1% from the year-ago reported figure.

Further, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings is pegged at $1.49 per share, suggesting a decline of 51.6% from the prior-year reported figure. The consensus mark has been unchanged for the past 30 says.

BIDU beat estimates in all the trailing four quarters, delivering an earnings surprise of 27.6%, on average.

Baidu, Inc. Price and EPS Surprise

Baidu, Inc. Price and EPS Surprise
Baidu, Inc. Price and EPS Surprise

Baidu, Inc. price-eps-surprise | Baidu, Inc. Quote

Factors to Consider

Baidu’s fourth-quarter revenues are expected to have been driven by strength in Baidu core owing to the increasing demand for Baidu AI cloud.

The company has been winning smart public parking projects due to its strength in Baidu Maps. This is likely to have continued benefiting Baidu’s performance in the to-be-reported quarter.

Increasing efforts to expand presence in the autonomous driving space might have been a tailwind. Growing traction of the Apollo Go Robotaxi service might have continued aiding the company in the fourth quarter.

The growing adoption of Baidu ACE smart transportation in China is anticipated to have supported its performance in the quarter under review.

Strength of the company’s mobile ecosystem is expected to have contributed significantly to the increase in the average daily active user base of the Baidu App in the fourth quarter.

The growing adoption of the company’s Managed Page is likely to have remained a positive factor in the quarter under discussion.

Solid demand for Baidu Health, Xiaodu smart display and DuerOS smart assistant is anticipated to have aided its performance in the to-be-reported quarter.

Further, the company’s well-performing iQIYI segment offering online entertainment services is expected to have continued benefiting the top line in the fourth quarter.

Yet, uncertainties related to the coronavirus pandemic in China might have remained a concern. Also, impacts of the Omicron variant are expected to get reflected in the upcoming quarterly results.

Further, higher promotional expenses and heavy channel spending are likely to have affected its performance in the to-be-reported quarter.

What Our Model Says

Our proven model does not conclusively predict an earnings beat for Baidu this time around. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the odds of an earnings beat. But that’s not the case here. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

It has an Earnings ESP of 0.00% and a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell), at present.

Stocks to Consider

Here are some stocks that you may consider as our model shows that these have the right combination of elements to beat on earnings this season.

DICK’S Sporting Goods DKS has an Earnings ESP of +4.86% and a Zacks Rank of 2 at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

DICK’s is scheduled to release fourth-quarter fiscal 2022 results on Mar 8. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for DKS’ earnings is pegged at $3.39 per share, suggesting an increase of 39.5% from the prior-year reported figure.

BJ’s Wholesale Club BJ has an Earnings ESP of +0.33% and a Zacks Rank #3 at present.

BJ’s Wholesale Club is set to report fourth-quarter fiscal 2021 results on Mar 3. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for BJ’s earnings is pegged at 75 cents per share, which suggests an increase of 7.1% from the prior-year reported figure.

Casey’s General Stores CASY has an Earnings ESP of +5.19% and a Zacks Rank #3 at present.

Casey’s is scheduled to release third-quarter fiscal 2022 results on Mar 8. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CASY’s earnings is pegged at $1.45 per share, which suggests an increase of 39.4% from the prior-year reported figure.

Stay on top of upcoming earnings announcements with the Zacks Earnings Calendar.


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BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. (BJ) : Free Stock Analysis Report

DICK'S Sporting Goods, Inc. (DKS) : Free Stock Analysis Report

Casey's General Stores, Inc. (CASY) : Free Stock Analysis Report

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Zacks Investment Research