When Will Baidu’s Cost Drivers Start Paying Off?
Baidu’s (BIDU) expenses jumped 26.6% YoY (year-over-year) to $3.4 billion in the third quarter. Major cost drivers at Baidu recently have been content acquisitions and R&D (research and development). Baidu’s content expenses jumped 73% YoY mainly due to an increase in content costs at iQiyi (IQ), the company’s Netflix-like online video service.