Analyzing Baidu (BIDU) and Its Competitors

Baidu (NASDAQ:BIDU) is one of 192 public companies in the “Interactive Media & Services” industry, but how does it contrast to its rivals? We will compare Baidu to similar companies based on the strength of its profitability, valuation, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, risk, dividends and earnings.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Baidu and its rivals gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Baidu	$127.31 billion	$799.00 million	-36.21
Baidu Competitors	$13.49 billion	$3.45 billion	20.19

Baidu has higher revenue, but lower earnings than its rivals. Baidu is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its rivals, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

41.2% of shares of all “Interactive Media & Services” companies are owned by institutional investors. 16.7% of Baidu shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 24.0% of shares of all “Interactive Media & Services” companies are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Risk & Volatility

Baidu has a beta of 0.59, indicating that its share price is 41% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Baidu’s rivals have a beta of 1.83, indicating that their average share price is 83% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for Baidu and its rivals, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Baidu	3	4	12	0	2.47
Baidu Competitors	1436	5986	11521	441	2.57

Baidu presently has a consensus target price of $144.27, indicating a potential upside of 88.83%. As a group, “Interactive Media & Services” companies have a potential upside of 37.84%. Given Baidu’s higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe Baidu is more favorable than its rivals.

Profitability

This table compares Baidu and its rivals’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Baidu	-2.63%	4.30%	2.64%
Baidu Competitors	-349.33%	-22.40%	4.21%

Summary

Baidu rivals beat Baidu on 8 of the 13 factors compared.

About Baidu

Baidu, Inc. engages in the provision of internet search services in China. It operates through two segments: Baidu Core and iQIYI. The company offers Baidu App to access search, feed, and other services using mobile devices; Baidu Search to access its search and other services; Baidu Feed that provides users with personalized timeline based on their demographics and interests; Baidu Health that helps users to find the doctor and hospital for healthcare needs; and Haokan, a short video app. It also provides Baidu Knows, an online community where users can ask questions to other users; Baidu Wiki; Baidu Experience; Baidu Post; ERNIE Bot, conversational AI bot; Baidu Wenku; Baidu Maps, a voice-enabled mobile app that provides travel-related services; Baidu Drive; Baijiahao; and DuerOS, a smart assistant platform. In addition, it offers online marketing services, which include pay for performance, an auction-based services that allow customers to bid for priority placement of paid sponsored links and reach users who search for information related to their products or services; other marketing services that include display-based marketing services and other online marketing services based on performance criteria other than cost per click; mobile ecosystem, a portfolio of apps, including Baidu App, Haokan, and Baidu Post; various cloud services and solutions, such as platform as a service, software as a service, and infrastructure as a service; self-driving services, including maps, automated valet parking, navigation pilot, electric vehicles, and robotaxi fleets, as well as Xiaodu smart devices. Further, the company provides iQIYI, an online entertainment service, including original and licensed content; other video content and membership; and online advertising services. It has strategic partnership with Zhejiang Geely Holding Group. The company was formerly known as Baidu.com, Inc. Baidu, Inc. was incorporated in 2000 and is headquartered in Beijing, China.