How Dubai’s First Autonomous Driving Trial Approval Could Shape Baidu (BIDU) Investors’ Outlook

• In September 2025, Dubai's Roads and Transport Authority granted Baidu’s Apollo Go platform the city’s first autonomous driving trial permit and 50 test licenses, enabling its fleet to begin open-road testing in designated urban areas.
• This exclusive approval highlights Apollo Go as the only self-driving ride-hailing platform authorized for large-scale trials on Dubai’s public roads, underscoring Baidu’s prominent role in global autonomous mobility innovation.
• We'll explore how this breakthrough in autonomous vehicle deployment could impact Baidu's investment narrative and growth outlook.

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Baidu Investment Narrative Recap

To own Baidu stock, you need confidence in its ability to turn bold bets on AI and autonomous vehicles into scalable revenue streams, despite near-term margin pressure and ongoing monetization risks in its core search business. The Dubai Apollo Go permit provides global validation but doesn’t materially change the most important catalyst, large-scale AI search monetization, or lessen the biggest risk, which is sustained weakness in digital ad revenue and further erosion of margins if this monetization remains slow.

Baidu’s July partnership with Uber to put Apollo Go vehicles on the Uber platform worldwide is especially relevant, as it highlights the company’s global ambitions in autonomous mobility, a potential catalyst if these efforts prove commercially viable at scale. Both moves show Baidu’s intent to diversify beyond China’s maturing search market and capture new growth, but investor attention is still squarely fixed on whether next-generation AI products can meaningfully improve earnings leverage.

Yet, with regulatory and competitive risks on the rise, investors should also be aware that if Baidu’s AI-driven search monetization continues to lag...

Read the full narrative on Baidu (it's free!)

Baidu's outlook anticipates CN¥150.8 billion in revenue and CN¥22.3 billion in earnings by 2028. This is based on analysts expecting a 4.0% annual revenue growth rate, but a decrease of CN¥3.1 billion in earnings from the current CN¥25.4 billion.

Uncover how Baidu's forecasts yield a $117.66 fair value, a 16% downside to its current price.

Exploring Other Perspectives

Eighteen members of the Simply Wall St Community place Baidu’s fair value estimates between $71 and $180 per share, reflecting broad disagreement on the company’s potential. While many see promise in international expansion like Apollo Go’s Dubai rollout, slow progress in core AI search monetization could weigh on returns and remains a key focus for the months ahead.

Explore 18 other fair value estimates on Baidu - why the stock might be worth 49% less than the current price!

Build Your Own Baidu Narrative

Disagree with existing narratives? Create your own in under 3 minutes - extraordinary investment returns rarely come from following the herd.

• A great starting point for your Baidu research is our analysis highlighting 3 key rewards and 1 important warning sign that could impact your investment decision.
• Our free Baidu research report provides a comprehensive fundamental analysis summarized in a single visual - the Snowflake - making it easy to evaluate Baidu's overall financial health at a glance.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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