Citi: Baidu's advertising revenue may continue to face pressure in the second half of the year, maintaining a buy rating.

Citibank's research report stated that Baidu's advertising revenue in the second half of the year may continue to be under pressure. With this technology giant rapidly improving its AI search capabilities and with a low sentiment towards advertising spending, the drag on advertising revenue may be larger than Citibank's previous expectations. The bank has lowered its forecast for Baidu's core advertising revenue in the second and third quarters by 6.1% and 8.9% respectively. Due to the greater negative impact brought by the high-profit margin advertising revenue, Citibank analysts have also lowered their core operating profit expectations for Baidu in the second and third quarters by 21% and 24% respectively. Citibank maintains a buy rating on Baidu and has raised its ADR target price from $138.00 to $140.00.