Business Overview and Segments
This company is often coined ‘the Google of China’ and it’s actually quite a fair term to go by. Baidu is the main search engine in China, utilising AI and data to produce more accurate search results in the same way that Google does. They also have numerous services which branch off their search engine, including; maps, encyclopaedia (like Wikipedia), cloud storage, online communities, news, Q+A, images, and video. Baidu also owns 56% of iQuiyi, dubbed ‘the Netflix of China’, and this is again a fairly accurate term for the company. Baidu is also venturing into new streams, including; smart speakers, smart home devices, and automated transport, possessing the Chinese government’s backing for the latter, something which essentially guarantees you to own the space.
Network Effects – the more people who use the search engine, the more accurate the searches become, and so the more people who use it, causing searches to become more accurate, and so on.
Key Facts and Figures
| Risk of Bankruptcy | Low |
| Last Year’s Growth | 5% (Low) |
| ROIC (Company Quality) | 16% (High) |
| Free Cash Flow Margin (Company Strength) | 19% (High) |