Changes in US stocks | Kunlunchip has secretly gone to Hong Kong to IPO Baidu (BIDU.US) surged more than 10% before the market

The Zhitong Finance App learned that on Friday, Baidu (BIDU.US) surged more than 10% in the premarket to $144.10. Furthermore, Baidu (09888) Hong Kong shares also rose more than 9% today, hitting a two-year high. According to the news, Baidu Group announced that on January 1, 2026, Kunlunchip has submitted a listing application form (A1 form) to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in a confidential form through its co-sponsor to apply for approval of the listing and trading of Kunlunchip shares on the main board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. After the proposed spin-off is completed, it is expected that Kunlun Core will remain a subsidiary of the company.

According to public information, Kunlunchip, formerly known as Baidu's Smart Chip and Architecture Department, focused on the design and production of general-purpose AI chips. Its products are widely used in data centers, cloud computing and autonomous driving. J.P. Morgan predicts that the company's revenue will soar from 1.3 billion yuan in 2025 to 8.3 billion yuan in 2026, an increase of 6 times.

Jefferies released a research report stating that the spin-off will effectively release the market value of Kunlun Core, and its overall valuation is estimated to be between 16 billion and 23 billion US dollars. Based on Baidu holding 59% of the shares, this portion of assets is worth about 9 billion to 13 billion US dollars. Based on this, Jefferies raised Baidu's target price by 14% to HK$176 and maintained a “buy” rating.