Baidu Inc. reported second-quarter revenue of RMB 32.7 billion (US$4.57 billion), a 4 percent year-on-year decline that slightly undershot market expectations compiled by LSEG. Adjusted profit remained resilient at RMB 13.58 per American depositary share (US$1.90), topping consensus, while net income attributable to the company rose 33 percent to RMB 7.3 billion. The results underscored the strain on Baidu’s core search advertising business, where revenue fell 15 percent to RMB 16.2 billion amid a sluggish Chinese economy and tighter corporate marketing budgets. That contraction outweighed robust gains at newer operations: non-online marketing revenue climbed 34 percent to RMB 10 billion, and cloud sales increased 27 percent to RMB 6.5 billion. Baidu Core—the company’s main segment—generated RMB 26.3 billion in revenue, down 2 percent year on year. Profitability also came under pressure. Adjusted EBITDA slipped to RMB 6.49 billion and the margin narrowed to 20 percent from 27 percent a year earlier, reflecting heavier investment in artificial-intelligence initiatives. Chief Executive Officer Robin Li said on a conference call that the AI cloud unit “continued to deliver robust and healthy revenue growth,” but cautioned that advertising weakness will take time to offset. U.S.-listed shares of Baidu fell as much as 3 percent in pre-market trading following the release.