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Baidu, Inc.

NASDAQ · Communication Services
Baidu, Inc.
BIDU · Internet Content & Information
$127.84
▲ 1.97 (1.57%)
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Mr. Market is currently offering Baidu, Inc. at $127.84.
The business passes only 3 of 7 of Graham's defensive criteria — well below his required standard.
Overall Grade
C
Defensive
D
Enterprising
Profitability C
Gross Profit Margin 43.9%
Operating Margin 8.0%
Net Income Margin 4.3%
Fin. Health B
Years to Pay Off Debt 17.4 yrs
Working Capital vs Long-Term Debt $4.5B
Working Capital $65.6B
Valuation A
Margin of Safety 74.8%
Price-to-Book 0.13x
Cash Flow F
Free Cash Flow -$16.4B
CapEx % of Net Income 240.1%
Owner Earnings $40.4B
3/7
Graham Score
Speculative
Defensive — Graham's strict criteria (P/B, P/E, dividends, stability)  ·  Enterprising — Profitability & cash flow focused, accepts higher valuations for quality
Metric Explanations
What each dimension measures and where the thresholds come from.
Gross Profit Margin
Revenue minus cost of goods sold. Graham's ≥40% threshold identifies businesses with durable pricing power. Note: software and financial companies naturally exceed this; retailers and manufacturers rarely reach it due to their cost structures.
Operating Margin
Profit after operating costs before interest and taxes. A consistent ≥15% operating margin signals a business with real competitive advantages. Capital-intensive industries (airlines, auto, commodities) rarely hit this threshold due to their structural cost base — compare within industry for context.
Net Income Margin
Bottom-line profit as a percentage of revenue. The ≥20% target reflects Buffett's preference for highly profitable businesses. Financial engineering (buybacks, tax optimisation) can inflate this temporarily — look for consistency across multiple years rather than a single strong result.
Years to Pay Off Debt
Total Debt ÷ Net Income. Lower = stronger balance sheet. Important caveat: utilities, telecoms, REITs, and infrastructure companies carry large structural debt by design — their bond-like cash flows service it comfortably at ratios that would alarm Graham. Compare within sector.
Working Capital vs Long-Term Debt
Working Capital minus Long-Term Debt. Negative results are common and expected in capital-return-focused businesses like Apple, Domino's, and McDonald's — where aggressive buybacks and dividends intentionally reduce book equity. This does not indicate financial distress in high-FCF businesses.
Working Capital
Current Assets minus Current Liabilities. Negative working capital can be a deliberate efficiency strategy in businesses that collect cash before paying suppliers (retailers, fast food franchises, subscription businesses). Assess alongside free cash flow generation for full context.
Margin of Safety
How far below the Graham Number the stock trades. Graham required a 33% discount as a buffer against analytical error. However, the Graham Number itself assumes 1960s-era P/E and P/B norms — for modern asset-light businesses it often understates true intrinsic value, making 0% MoS appear misleadingly bad.
Price-to-Book
Market price vs book value per share. Rarely below 1.5x for quality businesses today. Intangible assets (brand, software, patents) don't appear on the balance sheet under accounting rules, making P/B artificially high for asset-light companies. Negative P/B indicates book equity has been reduced by buybacks — common in highly profitable capital-return businesses.
Free Cash Flow
Operating cash flow minus capital expenditures. Buffett's most important metric — cash a business actually generates for its owners after maintaining and growing its asset base. Consistently positive FCF is one of the strongest indicators of a durable, well-run business regardless of accounting profits.
CapEx % of Net Income
Capital expenditure as a share of net income. Low CapEx signals a capital-light business that doesn't need heavy reinvestment to sustain earnings — Buffett's ideal. High CapEx is structurally necessary in manufacturing, airlines, telecoms, and semiconductors. For these industries, a high reading reflects the business model, not poor management.
Owner Earnings
Net Income + Depreciation & Amortisation − Capital Expenditures. Buffett's preferred measure of a company's true annual earning power — what could theoretically be distributed to owners without impairing the business. More reliable than reported EPS because it accounts for the capital cost of maintaining the business.
Market Cap $43.5B
Enterprise Value $347.9B
P/E (TTM) 74.33
Dividend Yield N/A
Exchange NASDAQ
Gross Profit 43.9%
Operating Margin 8.0%
Net Margin 4.3%
Sector Communication Services
Industry Internet Content & Information
Employees 33500
Country China
📖
Full Graham Analysis

Mr. Market is currently offering Baidu, Inc. at $127.84.

The business passes only 3 of 7 of Graham's defensive criteria — well below his required standard.

At $127.84, the stock trades below its Graham Number of $506.45 — suggesting a margin of safety exists.

The margin of safety of 74.8% exceeds Graham's recommended 33% threshold — a rare opportunity.

Negative NCAV — liabilities exceed current assets. Common in capital-return businesses (buybacks, debt-funded dividends) and capital-intensive industries. Not automatically a warning sign..

Conclusion: By Graham's standards, this stock is speculative at its current price. The intelligent investor would look elsewhere or wait.

About Baidu, Inc.

Baidu, Inc. provides internet content, value-added telecommunication-based, internet map, and online audio and video services in the People's Republic of China. It operates in two segments, Baidu General Business and iQIYI. The Baidu General Business segment offers products and services for mobile ecosystem, AI cloud, and intelligent driving. This segment operates Baidu App that enables users to access search, feed, content, and other services through mobile devices; and Haokan, which offers a range of various user generated and professionally produced short videos. It also provides a portfolio of knowledge and information products, including Baidu Wiki, which features columns and videos, such as encyclopedia of intangible cultural heritage, digital museum and recorder of history; Baidu Knows, an online community where users can pose questions to other users, such as individuals, professionals, and enterprises; Baidu Experience, an online platform where users share daily knowledge and experience; ERNIE Bot, new AI-native product that serves as a multi-round conversational AI assistant on both PC and mobile; and Baidu Post, a social media that allows users to post text, image, audio and video content, and reply to original curation forming valuable discussion groups, as well as livestreaming services, including live streaming and AI-powered digital human livestreaming. In addition, the company offers DuerOS smart assistant for the Chinese language; Apollo Go autonomous ride-hailing service; online marketing services; Baidu Maps, a voice-enabled mobile app providing users with travel-related services; and AI chips. The iQIYI segment produces and distributes professionally produced content. This segment offers online entertainment video services, including online videos, experience services, online games, comics, and others. The company was incorporated in 2000 and is headquartered in Beijing, the People's Republic of China.

Showing Key Metrics
Income Highlights
Metric 2025 2024 2023 2022
Gross Profit % 43.9% 50.3% 51.7% 48.3%
Operating Margin % 8.0% 16.0% 16.2% 12.9%
Net Income % 4.3% 17.8% 15.1% 6.1%
Diluted EPS 11.76 65.92 55.12 19.84
Balance Sheet Highlights
Metric 2025 2024 2023 2022 2021
Total Assets $449.2B $427.8B $406.8B $391.0B N/A
Total Debt $97.1B $79.3B $84.6B $91.4B N/A
Working Capital $65.6B $87.9B $153.8B $133.2B N/A
Years to Pay Debt 17.37 3.34 4.16 12.09 N/A
Cash Flow Highlights
Metric 2025 2024 2023 2022 2021
Free Cash Flow -$16.4B $13.0B $25.3B $17.8B N/A
Owner Earnings $40.4B $52.5B $53.1B $36.0B N/A
CapEx % of Net Income 240.1% 34.8% 55.6% 111.0% N/A
These metrics estimate what Baidu, Inc. is worth based on its fundamentals — independent of what the market currently prices it at. Graham's Fair Value and NCAV are conservative floors rooted in 1930s–60s principles. EPV assumes zero growth. None are price targets — they are reference points for judging whether the current price offers a margin of safety.
Graham's Fair Value
$506.45
Margin of Safety
74.8%
Market Cap ÷ Company Value
1.13

P/B Ratio
0.13
Warren's Owner Earnings
$40.4B
Latest fiscal year
Graham's 7 Criteria
Defensive Investor Checklist
3/7 — Speculative Investor
Adequate Size
$129.1B
vs > $1.5B revenue
Strong Financial Condition
1.76x
vs Current Ratio > 2.0x
Earnings Stability
No loss years (4 yrs data)
vs No negative EPS years
Dividend Record
No dividend
vs Uninterrupted dividends
Earnings Growth
-40.7% EPS growth
vs > 33% EPS growth
Moderate P/E Ratio
74.3x
vs P/E ≤ 15.0x
Moderate Price-to-Book
0.13x P/B (P/E×P/B: 9.8)
vs P/B ≤ 1.5x | P/E × P/B ≤ 22.5
Graham's 7 Criteria — Explained
What each criterion measures and why it may or may not apply to modern businesses.
✅ Adequate Size — $129.1B vs > $1.5B revenue
Graham required companies large enough to withstand economic downturns. This threshold ($1.5B) is inflation-adjusted from Graham's original $100M — virtually all S&P 500 companies pass this today.
"The minimum size of an enterprise should be not less than $100 million of annual sales."
❌ Strong Financial Condition — 1.76x vs Current Ratio > 2.0x
Current assets must be at least twice current liabilities. Note: highly profitable companies (Apple, Domino's) often run negative or low working capital deliberately — they collect cash fast and stretch payables. A failing score here is not always a warning sign.
"For industrial companies, current assets should be at least twice current liabilities."
✅ Earnings Stability — No loss years (4 yrs data) vs No negative EPS years
Graham required uninterrupted positive earnings. Any loss year is a red flag for defensive investors. Growth companies and cyclicals may show occasional losses during investment cycles or downturns without being fundamentally unsound.
"The company should have shown no deficit in the past ten years."
❌ Dividend Record — No dividend vs Uninterrupted dividends
Graham valued dividends as evidence of financial discipline and shareholder alignment. Many excellent modern businesses (Alphabet, Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway) pay no dividend, preferring to reinvest cash at high rates of return. Failing this criterion does not indicate a poor business — it may indicate a high-growth one.
"Some current dividend payments — for at least the past 20 years."
❌ Earnings Growth — -40.7% EPS growth vs > 33% EPS growth
EPS grew from $19.84 to $11.76 over 3 years. Graham's 33% threshold was set over a 10-year period. Measured over fewer years (as here), the bar is proportionally lower. Share buybacks can also inflate EPS growth without reflecting underlying business improvement.
"A minimum increase of at least one-third in per-share earnings over ten years."
❌ Moderate P/E Ratio — 74.3x vs P/E ≤ 15.0x
Graham's 15x P/E threshold was calibrated to 1960s market averages when interest rates were higher. Today's lower rate environment structurally supports higher multiples — the S&P 500 long-run average P/E is now closer to 20–25x. A stock trading at 20x is not automatically speculative in the modern context.
"The price-earnings ratio should be no more than 15 times average earnings."
✅ Moderate Price-to-Book — 0.13x P/B (P/E×P/B: 9.8) vs P/B ≤ 1.5x | P/E × P/B ≤ 22.5
Graham's 1.5x P/B threshold made sense when most company value was tangible. Today, intangible assets — brand, software, patents, network effects — rarely appear on the balance sheet. A high P/B in tech, pharma, or consumer brands often reflects intangible value, not overvaluation. P/FCF or EV/EBITDA are more reliable for asset-light businesses.
"The price should not be more than 1½ times book value. P/E × P/B ≤ 22.5."
Net Current Asset Value
$-27.16
Negative NCAV — liabilities exceed current assets. Common in capital-return businesses (buybacks, debt-funded dividends) and capital-intensive industries. Not automatically a warning sign.
"Buy at two-thirds of net current assets." — Graham
Earnings Power Value
$419.25
Per share, no-growth floor. Compare to current price.
Cash Flow Analysis
Metric 2025 2024 2023 2022 2021
Capital Expenditure % of Net Income 240.1% 34.8% 55.6% 111.0% N/A
Repurchase of Capital Stock -$5.5B -$6.3B -$4.8B -$1.9B N/A
Free Cash Flow -$16.4B $13.0B $25.3B $17.8B N/A
Warren's Owner Earnings $40.4B $52.5B $53.1B $36.0B N/A
Peers & Industry Comparison
Internet Content & Information — Auto-detected peers
Company Price Market Cap P/E Gross Margin Net Margin Revenue
BIDU $127.84 $43.5B 74.33 43.9% 4.3% $129.1B
GOOGL
Alphabet Inc.
$383.09 $4,641.3B 29.2 60.4% 37.9% $422.5B
META
Meta Platforms, Inc.
$610.87 $1,550.6B 22.2 81.9% 32.8% $215.0B
SNAP
Snap Inc.
$6.16 $10.4B N/A 55.0% -7.8% $5.9B
PINS
Pinterest, Inc.
$20.57 $13.2B 33.7 80.1% 9.9% $4.2B
"The management of a business is its most important single factor — more important than market position, patents, or financial structure."
— Benjamin Graham
Capital Allocation & Alignment
Insider Ownership
3.23%
Moderate — some alignment with shareholders
Return on Equity (ROE)
2.1%
Weak — poor returns on equity
Return on Assets (ROA)
1.2%
Poor — assets are not generating adequate returns
Share Buybacks (Latest Year)
$5.5B
Management is returning capital to shareholders via buybacks
Debt Trend YoY
+22.4% YoY
Debt is growing — management is leveraging up
Leadership Team
Yanhong Li
Co-Founder, Chairman & CEO
Age 56
Haijian He
Chief Financial Officer
Age 42
Dou Shen
Executive VP & President of Baidu AI Cloud Group
Age 45
Rong Luo
Executive Vice President of Baidu Mobile Ecosystem Group
Age 43
Zhenyu Li
Senior Vice President and GM of IDG
Age 49
Top Institutional Holders
Institution % Owned Shares
Primecap Management Company 4.04% 11,103,600
Morgan Stanley 0.99% 2,709,426
Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. 0.54% 1,474,077
UBS Group AG 0.52% 1,429,249
Susquehanna International Group, LLP 0.52% 1,425,180
Dimensional Fund Advisors LP 0.45% 1,238,437
Capital World Investors 0.43% 1,182,857
ARK Investment Management, LLC 0.42% 1,157,878
Risk Analysis
Beta (Market Risk)
0.52
Low volatility — more stable than the market
Short Interest
2.4% of float
Low short interest — market is not heavily bearish
Debt-to-Equity
0.34x
Conservative balance sheet — low financial risk
Current Ratio
1.76x
Adequate liquidity
52-Week Price Range
Low: $81.17 Current: $127.84 High: $165.30
Currently at 55% of 52-week range

Baidu, Inc. (BIDU) fundamental analysis — Overall grade C based on profitability, financial health, valuation and cash flow. Graham's Fair Value: $506.45. Margin of safety: 74.8%. Gross profit margin: 43.9%. Operating margin: 8.0%. Net margin: 4.3%. Market cap: $43.5B. Sector: Communication Services. Industry: Internet Content & Information. Analysis powered by 360investing — free fundamental stock analysis based on Benjamin Graham and Warren Buffett principles.

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