On August 18, 2026, before the market opened, the Company reported second quarter 2026 financial results, revealing that Baidu General Business revenue fell 4% year over year to RMB25.2 billion (or $3.71 billion), with Legacy Business revenue falling 23% year over year to RMB10.4 billion and total Online Marketing Services revenue falling 19% year over year to RMB13.1 billion. Critically, the Baidu Core AI-powered business fell 8% quarter over quarter to RMB12.5 billion (or $1.86 billion), its year-over-year growth having decelerated from 49% in the first quarter of 2026 to 25%, and its largest component, AI Cloud Infra, having fallen 17% quarter over quarter from RMB8.8 billion to RMB7.3 billion.
On this news, the price of Baidu ADS fell $13.25 per share, or 12.73%, to close at $90.87 on August 18, 2026, thereby injuring investors.
Throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and/or misleading statements, as well as failed to disclose material adverse facts about the Company’s business, operations, and prospects. Specifically, Defendants failed to disclose to investors: (1) that the Company had overstated the ability of its AI business to mitigate rapid declines in its legacy online marketing business; (2) that, as a result, the Company’s revenue was reasonably likely to decline; and (3) that, as a result of the foregoing, Defendants’ positive statements about the Company’s business, operations, and prospects were materially misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis.
