Baidu Announces $5B Buyback Plus First Dividend, Moving to Shareholder Returns

Baidu Inc. (BIDU) announced a three-year stock buyback program of up to $5 billion and plans its first dividend, signaling a shift to reward investors as the AI-driven rally begins to wane. The company expects to declare the first dividend this year, and is scheduled to report earnings on February 29, 2026. The filing shows the firm is aligning with peers like Alibaba (BABA) and Tencent (0700) in boosting shareholder returns. Baidu, a pioneer in AI search, is down about 14% from a 2026 high and roughly half from a March 2021 peak, with its shares up as much as 2.4% on Thursday before trimming gains, outperforming the Hang Seng Tech Index’s more than 1% drop. The move follows a broader trend in Hong Kong-listed Chinese companies to shore up investor confidence through share buybacks and higher dividends, including Xiaomi (0911), Pop Mart (0002), and Geely (0175). The company also plans to offer billions in credits to drive usage of its large-language model-based services during the Lunar New Year.