Finimize - 🤝 Bitcoin's sticking with Nasdaq

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Today's big stories

China's Google-equivalent Baidu reported better-than-expected results, despite its core business struggling
Bitcoin has been rising and falling as the Nasdaq does, but that might stop soon – Read Now
Europe’s approaching its gas storage targets much sooner than expected

China’s Struggling Economy Didn’t Phase Baidu

What’s Going On Here?

Chinese internet giant Baidu reported better-than-expected quarterly results on Tuesday.

What Does This Mean?

Baidu – the company behind China’s biggest search engine – usually makes a lot of its money from digital marketing, but China’s struggling economy is hardly encouraging businesses to splash the cash. Baidu’s online marketing sales fell 12% last quarter from the year before as a result, a trend also clear in rival Tencent’s results earlier this month.

So Baidu will be feeling extra grateful for its cloud business, which grew its revenue by 31% from the same time last year on the back of steadily rising demand for internet applications. So sure, Baidu’s overall revenue dropped for the first time in two years, but the 5% dip was still better than analysts feared. Then sprinkle in some increased profit margins here – “here” being Baidu’s Netflix-esque video service iQiyi – with some cost cuts there, and Baidu’s profit came in a whopping 63% higher than expected.

Why Should I Care?

The bigger picture: No more awkward cab chats.
Baidu's newer ventures could help it further offset that sluggish core advertising business in the future. The internet giant’s doubling down on self-driving technology, for one, having invested heavily into the sector over the past five years. It’s been a good ride so far: Baidu’s “Apollo Go” driverless robotaxis completed nearly 300,000 rides last quarter, and it secured a permit this month that’ll let it operate without on-board safety supervisors for the first time ever in China (tweet this).

Zooming out: Buffett’s driving change.
Warren Buffett’s going driver-free too, with Pilot Co. – the Berkshire Hathaway-owned truck stop operator – agreeing to take a stake in driverless truck startup Kodiak Robotics last week. That could be a savvy move: the existing pool of truck drivers is shrinking and aging, so driverless solutions could help alleviate that shortage, bring down costs, and even improve safety too.

You might also like: The rise and rise of automation and artificial intelligence.

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Analyst Take

Can Bitcoin Rise If The Nasdaq Doesn’t?

By Jonathan Hobbs, Analyst

Bitcoin and the market’s so-called “growth stocks” have been moving almost hand-in-hand all year.

Their lockstep moves have led some investors to believe that bitcoin can only go up if the Nasdaq 100 – heavy with tech-sector growth stocks – does too.

Thing is, the data suggests the two are not as tightly correlated as you might think.

That’s today’s Insight: whether bitcoin can rise, even if the Nasdaq doesn’t.

Read or listen to the Insight here

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