China AI Rally Laggard Baidu Faces Low Bar for Earnings Boost

The current earnings season has largely been a letdown for China’s big tech stocks, lowering the hurdle for Baidu Inc. to impress investors seeking a fresh angle on the artificial intelligence theme.

China’s top search engine had made early advances in AI but fell behind as DeepSeek shocked the world with its low-cost model and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. grabbed headlines as well. Baidu’s shares are up 6% in Hong Kong this year, while Alibaba has surged 48% and the Hang Seng Tech Index has climbed 19%.