• First-quarter total revenue came in at RMB 32.1 billion, and adjusted earnings per American Depositary Share were RMB 12.06, both ahead of expectations.
• AI cloud infra growth soared to 79% within Baidu’s core AI business.
• Baidu's autonomous ride-hailing service, Apollo Go, provided over 3.2 million rides during the quarter.

China’s Baidu Inc. (BIDU) drew significant investor attention on Monday morning after the company reported a top- and bottom-line beat for the first quarter, with explosive growth in its core AI business helping offset sharp declines in its online advertising business.

At the time of writing, BIDU stock was up more than 3% in premarket trading.

BIDU Q1 Results In Focus

The company, which is transitioning from an internet search pioneer to an AI frontrunner, said its AI businesses accounted for 52% of total revenue.

Revenue in Baidu's core AI-powered business came in at RMB 13.6 billion ($2 billion) during the first quarter (Q1). Within that, AI cloud infra surged 79%, while AI-native marketing services rose 36% and AI applications were flat. Revenue from online marketing services fell 22% to RMB 12.6 billion.

"In Q1, our core AI-powered business exceeded half of Baidu General Business revenue for the first time, marking a clear signal that AI has become the core driver of Baidu,” said Robin Li, Co-founder and CEO of Baidu. "We see AI driving even greater value for Baidu in the quarters ahead."

For Q1, total revenue nearly fell 2% to RMB 32.1 billion, but was ahead of the RMB 31.5 billion consensus estimate polled by Fiscal AI. Adjusted earnings per American Depositary Share came in at RMB 12.06, better than the RMB 11.43 per-share expectation.

BIDU Robotaxi

Baidu's autonomous ride-hailing service Apollo Go provided over 3.2 million rides in Q1, up 120% year over year. As of April 2026, the service had provided more than 22 million rides to the public.

The company said Apollo Go is on track to start open-road testing in Switzerland and begin testing in London with Uber and Lyft soon.

What Retail Thinks About BIDU

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment about BIDU turned ‘extremely bullish' from ‘bullish’ amid ‘high’ message volumes over the last 24 hours.

One user on the platform commended Baidu’s Q1 results.

Another user thinks the stock could touch $140 to $150 in the current trading session.

BIDU stock has gained more than 3% so far this year and surged nearly 52% over the past 12 months.

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(RMB 1 = $0.15)