Baidu Rated Neutral, Artificial Intelligence Pay-Off Not Coming Soon

Baidu's (BIDU) push into artificial intelligence will take time to produce revenue while its iQiyi (IQ) video streaming unit faces challenges turning profitable, says one analyst who initiated coverage on Baidu Thursday. "We assign zero value for Baidu's AI business given it is too early for monetization, but view it as a call option for long-term growth," Hans Chung, analyst at KeyBanc Capital Markets, said in a note to clients. Chung gave Baidu a sector weight rating. Baidu, China's internet search engine leader, has an artificial intelligence strategy similar to Google-parent Alphabet (GOOGL). Baidu is pushing into artificial intelligence for consumer applications such as self-driving cars.