Baidu Cut by Fitch But Opportunity to Recapture Growth Keeps Outlook Stable -- Market Talk

0950 GMT - The structural decline in Baidu's search ad business prompts Fitch Ratings to downgrade the company's long-term issuer default rating to A- from A. Emerging AI search and competing chatbots are also likely to erode Baidu's search business monetization, Fitch says in a note. Baidu's lower profitability reflects a weakening legacy business and relatively lower margins for non-marketing business, but Fitch reckons growing AI business revenue can largely offset the legacy decline. Baidu has integrated AI-generated content in its search results, which can help retain some user traffic. Fitch's stable outlook on the company reflects the view that it has the opportunity to capture growth across the AI value chain to drive Ebitda recovery. Fitch also expects Baidu to maintain a net cash position medium term, despite higher capex and shareholder returns. (fabiana.negrinochoa@wsj.com)

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August 13, 2026 05:50 ET (09:50 GMT)