Photo:Xinhua

 
Baidu reported a better-than-expected fourth-quarter (Q4) result on Thursday with its business revenue, ending December 31, hitting 30.3 billion yuan ($4.64 billion), beating Wall Street's expectations for four quarters in a row.

The company said that growing AI businesses, more cloud services and autonomous driving technology have been strong contributors to its revenues, which displayed resilience and vitality comparable to that of China's economy. The company has also benefited from the accelerated development of industrial Internet.

Benefiting from improving macroeconomic environment, Baidu's core revenue jumped 8 percent quarter-on-quarter, reaching 23.1 billion yuan in Q4. Its non-marketing revenue reached 4.2 billion yuan, growing 52 percent year-over-year in the quarter, thanks to its push into new AI business, cloud services and autonomous car technology.

For the first quarter of 2021, Baidu expects its revenues to range between 26.0 billion and 28.5 billion yuan, representing a growth rate of 15-26 percent year-over- year, which assumes that Baidu's core revenue will grow between 26 -39 percent year-over-year. The forecast does not include contribution from the acquisition of YY Live.

Baidu became the first Chinese company to receive driverless license both in California and China. Apollo's total autonomous driving licenses in China hit 199 now.

Apollo Self Driving is gaining momentum, having signed strategic partnerships with 10 leading local and multinational automakers on services, such as high definition Maps and automated valet parking to power their new passenger vehicles.

Baidu earlier this month deployed a multi-modal autonomous driving MaaS (mobility as a service) platform that will provide AI-driven city transportation service in Guangzhou, South China's Guangdong Province. 

The implementation of both Baidu Apollo and the ACE Transportation Engine is a testament to the company's smart and intelligent transportation endeavors. 

Global Times