Revenue for the three months ended December shrank 2% to 34.1 billion yuan ($4.7 billion), versus an average estimate of 33.4 billion yuan. The results were better than feared but failed to outweigh a 29% dive in operating income.

Baidu (BIDU) reported a smaller-than-expected decline in revenues, easing some worries about its internet search and artificial intelligence

The Beijing-based internet company said Tuesday that fourth-quarter revenue fell 2.4%, better than analysts’ estimates.

Chinese search engine giant Baidu reported a 2% drop in quarterly revenue, dragged down by a slowdown in the advertising business, though offset by gains from cloud AI. For the three months through December,

Shares of Baidu, Inc. (BIDU) slipped in Tuesday’s premarket session despite the Chinese search engine’s forecast-beating fiscal year 2024 fourth-quarter results. The negative stock reaction may have been due to weak advertising revenue.

Baidu CEO Robin Li said 2024 was a transformational year as the company pivots to AI, where it faces fresh competition from start-up DeepSeek.