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短视频业务要拖百度后腿?

随着高额的成本侵蚀利润,投资者现在应该离场观望。

测试中可能遇到的词汇和知识:

traction [ˈtrækʃn] n.牵引

fleeting [ˈfliːtɪŋ] adj.转瞬即逝

阅读马上开始,建议您计算一下阅读整篇文章所用的时间,对照下方的参考值就可以评估出您的英文阅读水平。

Baidu: the big short video (375 words)

Jimmy Fallon and Jason Derulo are just a couple of foreign stars who have joined the hottest short video trend in China. Making and watching video clips is both entertainment and a way to communicate. It has become so popular that ByteDance, a short video app start-up, has been valued at $75bn. And Baidu, China’s largest search engine, wants a piece of the action. At the expense of its investors.

Baidu is best known for its search engine, with almost three-quarters of this market in China. It has had some success with its Netflix-style video streaming platform iQiyi. But the short video market is a whole new game. While the market is expected to surpass $14bn by next year, according to IHS Markit, it already has too many participants. Tencent, also a late joiner, benefits through access to the massive userbase of its messenger app WeChat.

Regardless, Baidu has continued its aggressive pursuit. It is gaining traction with its existing short clips apps Quanmin and Haokan. Last year these became the two fastest-growing short video apps by user numbers. Baidu has released yet another short video app this year.

Recent results showed spending has begun to eat into its profits. Revenue grew 22 per cent but operating profit was down 77 per cent year on year. This drop came largely from an increase of almost two-thirds in marketing costs for short video apps and a two-fold increase in content acquisition spending for iQiyi. Worse, it is proving difficult to make money from short video apps. A previous live-streaming video trend generated cash from the sale of virtual gifts for users to lavish on content creators. This produced a useful stream of fees for the operators. So far, advertising to app users accounts for most of short video’s revenues.

Though Baidu trades at 18 times forward earnings, very cheap to peers, investors should remain spectators. Spending on marketing and new platforms will continue well into next year. Trends are fleeting and Baidu faces the risk of this one ending before it realises profits from its investments.

Lex publishes two popular newsletters for premium subscribers. Wednesday: Lex Letter From London, New York or San Francisco. Fridays: Best of Lex, a weekly round-up. Please sign up at ft.com/newsletters.

请根据你所读到的文章内容,完成以下自测题目:

1.Which of the following best describes the author's attitude toward Baidu?

A.Optimistic

B.Pessimistic

C.Zealous

D.Puzzled

答案 (1)

2.What does the author suggest investors to do with Baidu?

A.Buy Baidu stocks

B.Sell all Baidu stocks immediately

C.Stay out of Baidu

D.Short Baidu

答案 (2)

3.What is Baidu's main strength, according to the author?

A.Video

B.Short video

C.AI

D.Search engine

答案 (3)


(1) 答案:B Pessimistic解释:Trends are fleeting and Baidu faces the risk of this one ending before it realises profits from its investments.

(2) 答案:C Stay out of Baidu解释:Though Baidu trades at 18 times forward earnings, very cheap to peers, investors should remain spectators.

(3) 答案:D Search engine解释:Baidu is best known for its search engine, with almost three-quarters of this market in China. 0JfFrV5+SoBgPAyom5z6Yjr0nSv3pe54ZAvxMzo5ltxNMOsWxrdMLv/cKhlwxI5l

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