Baidu
Baidu's revenue fell 3.0% to CN¥129.1 billion in fiscal 2025. Its operating margin was −4.5%, down from 16.0% a year earlier. Free cash flow was −CN¥15.1 billion, against CN¥13.1 billion a year earlier. It paid out CN¥5.5 billion in dividends and buybacks.
Operating margin is operating income as a share of revenue. Free cash flow is cash from operations minus capital spending. Return on capital is after-tax operating income as a share of the money invested in the business: debt plus equity, minus cash.
Revenue and margins
Net income and earnings per share
From fiscal 2016 to 2025, net income fell 7.8% a year; the filings' structured data doesn't give diluted earnings per share.
Returns on capital
Cash flow
Payouts and share count
Balance sheet
| Fiscal year end | FY21 | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cash and short-term investments | 180.1 | 174.0 | 193.9 | 127.4 | 115.3 |
| Debt incl. finance leases | 57.8 | 52.1 | 51.3 | 46.7 | 48.9 |
| Net debt (negative means net cash) | −122.3 | −121.9 | −142.6 | −80.7 | −66.3 |
| Net debt to EBITDA | −7.5x | −5.5x | −4.9x | −2.9x | −42.1x |
| Debt to equity | 0.3x | 0.2x | 0.2x | 0.2x | 0.2x |
| Interest coverage | 3.1x | 5.5x | 6.7x | 7.5x | −2.1x |
| Current ratio | 2.9x | 2.7x | 3.0x | 2.1x | 1.8x |
| Quick ratio | 2.9x | 2.7x | 3.0x | 2.1x | 1.8x |
Piotroski F-score
The F-score counts how many of nine simple tests of profitability, funding and efficiency a company passed in a year (Piotroski, 2000). The more tests passed, the stronger the year: 8 or 9 is strong, 0 to 2 weak. Companies that report no gross profit are scored on the other eight.
| Test | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Net income is positive | Pass | Pass | Pass |
| Cash from operations is positive | Pass | Pass | Fail |
| Return on assets rose | Pass | Pass | Fail |
| Cash from operations exceeds net income | Pass | Fail | Fail |
| Debt fell relative to assets | Pass | Pass | Pass |
| Current ratio rose | Pass | Fail | Fail |
| Share count didn't rise | — | — | — |
| Gross margin rose | Pass | Fail | Fail |
| Revenue rose relative to assets | Pass | Fail | Fail |
| F-score | — | — | — |
| Accruals ratio | −4.1% | 0.6% | 2.0% |
Compare
Put Baidu side by side with any other company we cover: revenue, growth, margins, cash flow and returns, with ten years of charts.
Similar companies
| Company | Year | Revenue growth | Operating margin | Free cash flow margin | Return on capital | Net debt to EBITDA | F-score | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baidu | FY25 | −3.0% | −4.5% | −11.7% | −2.4% | −42.1x | — | |
| Meta Platforms | FY25 | 22.2% | 41.4% | 22.9% | 35.5% | −0.2x | 6 | Compare |
| Alphabet | FY25 | 15.1% | 32.0% | 18.2% | 36.7% | −0.5x | 8 | Compare |
| Snap | FY25 | 10.6% | −9.0% | 7.4% | −14.8% | — | 6 | Compare |
| Match Group | FY25 | 0.2% | 25.0% | 29.4% | 28.2% | 2.7x | 8 | Compare |
10 years of figures
| Fiscal year | FY16 | FY17 | FY18 | FY19 | FY20 | FY21 | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Income statement | ||||||||||
| Revenue | 70.5 | 84.8 | 102.3 | 107.4 | 107.1 | 124.5 | 123.7 | 134.6 | 133.1 | 129.1 |
| Revenue growth | 6.3% | 20.2% | 20.6% | 5.0% | −0.3% | 16.3% | −0.7% | 8.8% | −1.1% | −3.0% |
| Gross profit | 35.3 | 41.7 | 50.5 | 44.6 | 51.9 | 60.2 | 59.7 | 69.6 | 67.0 | 56.6 |
| Research and development | 10.2 | 12.9 | 15.8 | 18.3 | 19.5 | 24.9 | 23.3 | 24.2 | 22.1 | 20.4 |
| Operating income | 10.0 | 15.7 | 15.5 | 6.3 | 14.3 | 10.5 | 15.9 | 21.9 | 21.3 | −5.8 |
| Net income | 11.6 | 18.3 | 27.6 | 2.1 | 22.5 | 10.2 | 7.6 | 20.3 | 23.8 | 5.6 |
| Diluted EPS (CNY) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Diluted shares (millions) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Cash flow | ||||||||||
| Cash from operations | 22.5 | 32.8 | 36.0 | 28.5 | 24.2 | 20.1 | 26.2 | 36.6 | 21.2 | −3.0 |
| Capital expenditure | 4.2 | 4.8 | 8.8 | 6.4 | 5.1 | 10.9 | 8.3 | 11.2 | 8.1 | 12.1 |
| Free cash flow | 18.3 | 28.0 | 27.2 | 22.0 | 19.1 | 9.2 | 17.9 | 25.4 | 13.1 | −15.1 |
| Dividends paid | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Share buybacks | 0.0 | 1.7 | 3.3 | 5.0 | 13.1 | 7.6 | 1.9 | 4.8 | 6.3 | 5.5 |
| Acquisitions | 0.0 | 0.6 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 2.4 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 1.2 |
| Stock-based compensation | 1.8 | 3.2 | 4.7 | 5.6 | 6.7 | 7.1 | 6.8 | 6.3 | 4.8 | 3.6 |
| Balance sheet at fiscal year end | ||||||||||
| Cash and short-term investments | 82.1 | 100.5 | 139.3 | 146.4 | 162.2 | 180.1 | 174.0 | 193.9 | 127.4 | 115.3 |
| Debt incl. finance leases | 34.0 | 36.9 | 52.7 | 45.9 | 51.4 | 57.8 | 52.1 | 51.3 | 46.7 | 48.9 |
| Total assets | 182.0 | 251.7 | 297.6 | 301.3 | 332.7 | 380.0 | 391.0 | 406.8 | 427.8 | 449.2 |
| Total liabilities | 84.3 | 121.4 | 121.8 | 128.5 | 140.9 | 156.1 | 153.2 | 144.2 | 144.2 | 159.4 |
| Shareholders' equity | 92.3 | 115.3 | 162.9 | 163.6 | 182.7 | 211.5 | 223.5 | 243.6 | 263.6 | 266.3 |
| Margins and ratios | ||||||||||
| Gross margin | 50.0% | 49.2% | 49.4% | 41.5% | 48.5% | 48.3% | 48.3% | 51.7% | 50.4% | 43.9% |
| Operating margin | 14.2% | 18.5% | 15.2% | 5.9% | 13.4% | 8.4% | 12.9% | 16.2% | 16.0% | −4.5% |
| Net margin | 16.5% | 21.6% | 27.0% | 1.9% | 21.0% | 8.2% | 6.1% | 15.1% | 17.9% | 4.3% |
| Free cash flow margin | 25.9% | 33.1% | 26.6% | 20.5% | 17.9% | 7.4% | 14.5% | 18.9% | 9.8% | −11.7% |
| Return on capital | 18.4% | 27.0% | 17.8% | 6.2% | 15.8% | 8.6% | 11.7% | 17.1% | 11.8% | −2.4% |
| Return on equity | 13.5% | 17.6% | 19.8% | 1.3% | 13.0% | 5.2% | 3.5% | 8.7% | 9.4% | 2.1% |
| Return on assets | 7.0% | 8.4% | 10.0% | 0.7% | 7.1% | 2.9% | 2.0% | 5.1% | 5.7% | 1.3% |
| Net debt to EBITDA | −2.6x | −2.3x | −4.5x | −8.4x | −5.5x | −7.5x | −5.5x | −4.9x | −2.9x | −42.1x |