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Side-by-side financial comparison of Baidu, Inc. (BIDU) and Southern Company (SO). Click either name above to swap in a different company.

Southern Company is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($8.4B vs $5.0B, roughly 1.7× Baidu, Inc.). Southern Company runs the higher net margin — 15.9% vs 6.0%, a 10.0% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, Baidu, Inc. posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (14.0% vs 8.0%). Over the past eight quarters, Southern Company's revenue compounded faster (14.0% CAGR vs 7.5%).

Baidu, Inc. is a Chinese multinational technology company specializing in Internet services and artificial intelligence. It holds a dominant position in China's search engine market, and provides a wide variety of other internet services such as Baidu App, Baidu Baike, iQIYI, and Baidu Tieba.

Southern Company is an American gas and electric utility holding company based in the Southern United States. It is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, with executive offices located in Birmingham, Alabama. As of 2021 it is the second largest utility company in the U.S. in terms of customer base. Through its subsidiaries it serves 9 million gas and electric utility customers in 6 states. Southern Company's regulated regional electric utilities serve a 120,000-square-mile (310,000 km2) territor...

BIDU vs SO — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
SO
SO
1.7× larger
SO
$8.4B
$5.0B
BIDU
Growing faster (revenue YoY)
BIDU
BIDU
+6.0% gap
BIDU
14.0%
8.0%
SO
Higher net margin
SO
SO
10.0% more per $
SO
15.9%
6.0%
BIDU
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
SO
SO
Annualised
SO
14.0%
7.5%
BIDU

Income Statement — Q4 FY2025 vs Q1 FY2026

Metric
BIDU
BIDU
SO
SO
Revenue
$5.0B
$8.4B
Net Profit
$300.0M
$1.3B
Gross Margin
41.0%
Operating Margin
4.1%
24.0%
Net Margin
6.0%
15.9%
Revenue YoY
14.0%
8.0%
Net Profit YoY
-47.1%
5.4%
EPS (diluted)
$0.53

Green = leading value per metric. Periods may differ when fiscal calendars don't align.

8-Quarter Revenue & Profit Trend

Side-by-side quarterly history. Quarters aligned by calendar period so offset fiscal years line up.

Revenue
BIDU
BIDU
SO
SO
Q1 26
$8.4B
Q4 25
$5.0B
$7.0B
Q3 25
$4.4B
$7.8B
Q2 25
$4.6B
$7.0B
Q1 25
$4.5B
$7.8B
Q4 24
$4.4B
$6.3B
Q3 24
$4.8B
$7.3B
Q2 24
$4.7B
$6.5B
Net Profit
BIDU
BIDU
SO
SO
Q1 26
$1.3B
Q4 25
$300.0M
$341.0M
Q3 25
$-1.6B
$1.7B
Q2 25
$1.0B
$880.0M
Q1 25
$1.1B
$1.3B
Q4 24
$567.0M
$466.0M
Q3 24
$1.1B
$1.5B
Q2 24
$768.0M
$1.2B
Gross Margin
BIDU
BIDU
SO
SO
Q1 26
Q4 25
41.0%
Q3 25
41.2%
Q2 25
43.9%
Q1 25
46.1%
Q4 24
49.9%
Q3 24
51.1%
Q2 24
51.7%
Operating Margin
BIDU
BIDU
SO
SO
Q1 26
24.0%
Q4 25
4.1%
13.1%
Q3 25
-48.4%
33.2%
Q2 25
10.0%
25.3%
Q1 25
13.9%
25.9%
Q4 24
11.1%
16.7%
Q3 24
17.6%
32.6%
Q2 24
17.5%
30.0%
Net Margin
BIDU
BIDU
SO
SO
Q1 26
15.9%
Q4 25
6.0%
4.9%
Q3 25
-36.3%
21.9%
Q2 25
22.2%
12.6%
Q1 25
24.1%
16.3%
Q4 24
12.8%
7.3%
Q3 24
23.2%
21.1%
Q2 24
16.4%
18.6%
EPS (diluted)
BIDU
BIDU
SO
SO
Q1 26
Q4 25
$0.53
$0.38
Q3 25
$-4.76
$1.54
Q2 25
$2.84
$0.79
Q1 25
$2.98
$1.21
Q4 24
$1.95
$0.48
Q3 24
$3.08
$1.39
Q2 24
$1.09

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

Snapshot of each company's liquidity, leverage and book value from the latest quarter.

Metric
BIDU
BIDU
SO
SO
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$16.5B
Total DebtLower is stronger
$5.9B
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$38.1B
Total Assets
$64.2B
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage
0.16×

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
BIDU
BIDU
SO
SO
Q1 26
Q4 25
$16.5B
$1.6B
Q3 25
$17.5B
$3.3B
Q2 25
$17.3B
$1.3B
Q1 25
$19.5B
$2.3B
Q4 24
$17.5B
$1.1B
Q3 24
$18.9B
$1.0B
Q2 24
$1.2B
Total Debt
BIDU
BIDU
SO
SO
Q1 26
Q4 25
$5.9B
$65.6B
Q3 25
$2.5B
$64.6B
Q2 25
$2.4B
$63.0B
Q1 25
$2.3B
$62.9B
Q4 24
$4.9B
$58.8B
Q3 24
$2.1B
$61.3B
Q2 24
$59.9B
Stockholders' Equity
BIDU
BIDU
SO
SO
Q1 26
Q4 25
$38.1B
$36.0B
Q3 25
$38.6B
$38.3B
Q2 25
$39.8B
$37.3B
Q1 25
$38.6B
$37.2B
Q4 24
$36.1B
$33.2B
Q3 24
$38.5B
$36.9B
Q2 24
$36.1B
Total Assets
BIDU
BIDU
SO
SO
Q1 26
Q4 25
$64.2B
$155.7B
Q3 25
$62.4B
$153.2B
Q2 25
$62.9B
$148.9B
Q1 25
$62.6B
$148.1B
Q4 24
$58.6B
$145.2B
Q3 24
$59.5B
$144.0B
Q2 24
$141.9B
Debt / Equity
BIDU
BIDU
SO
SO
Q1 26
Q4 25
0.16×
1.82×
Q3 25
0.07×
1.69×
Q2 25
0.06×
1.69×
Q1 25
0.06×
1.69×
Q4 24
0.14×
1.77×
Q3 24
0.05×
1.66×
Q2 24
1.66×

Cash Flow & Capital Efficiency

How much cash each business actually produces after reinvestment. Cash flow is harder to manipulate than net income.

Metric
BIDU
BIDU
SO
SO
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
$1.5B
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
5.08×
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
BIDU
BIDU
SO
SO
Q1 26
Q4 25
$1.5B
$2.6B
Q3 25
$3.8B
Q2 25
$-6.3B
$2.2B
Q1 25
$1.3B
Q4 24
$4.0B
$2.2B
Q3 24
$3.6B
Q2 24
$5.3B
$2.7B
Free Cash Flow
BIDU
BIDU
SO
SO
Q1 26
Q4 25
$-1.7B
Q3 25
$559.0M
Q2 25
$-619.0M
Q1 25
$-1.2B
Q4 24
$-576.0M
Q3 24
$1.3B
Q2 24
$563.0M
FCF Margin
BIDU
BIDU
SO
SO
Q1 26
Q4 25
-24.2%
Q3 25
7.1%
Q2 25
-8.9%
Q1 25
-15.3%
Q4 24
-9.1%
Q3 24
17.9%
Q2 24
8.7%
Capex Intensity
BIDU
BIDU
SO
SO
Q1 26
Q4 25
61.4%
Q3 25
41.1%
Q2 25
40.2%
Q1 25
31.3%
Q4 24
43.4%
Q3 24
31.8%
Q2 24
32.9%
Cash Conversion
BIDU
BIDU
SO
SO
Q1 26
Q4 25
5.08×
7.62×
Q3 25
2.21×
Q2 25
-6.26×
2.48×
Q1 25
0.98×
Q4 24
7.12×
4.66×
Q3 24
2.36×
Q2 24
6.88×
2.23×

Financial Flow Comparison

Revenue → gross profit → operating profit → net profit for each company.

Revenue Breakdown by Segment

BIDU
BIDU

Legacy Business$1.8B35%
Baidu Core AI-powered Business$1.6B32%
Other$1.3B26%
Others$357.5M7%

SO
SO

Segment breakdown not available.

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