Most of Baidu's revenue drop came from its online marketing segment, which fell 15%. That part of the business usually makes up about 60% of total revenue, so the hit was significant. The decline reflects Chinese companies pulling back on ad spending, driven by a slowing economy, weak hiring, and a sluggish property market. Many businesses are cutting costs wherever they can, and ad budgets are an easy target, which has directly hit Baidu's search advertising income.
Hit by a property market downturn, weak employment rates and choppy consumer demand, companies in China, the world's second-largest economy, have reined in advertising spending to cut costs and protect their margins. The squeeze has spilled over into Baidu, which relies heavily on advertising in its search engine. Its core online advertising business, which typically makes up 60% of overall company revenue, saw revenue decrease 15% to 16.2 billion yuan during the April-June quarter.
By integrating Baidu's cutting-edge autonomous driving technology with Lyft's platform reach and operational expertise, we're excited to deliver safer, greener, and more efficient mobility solutions to more users.