Baidu (BIDU) CEO Robin Li Exercises Derivatives and Receives 1.97M Shares

What Happened

• Robin Yanhong (Robin) Li, Baidu's Chairman and CEO and a 10% owner, was granted 1,966,824 restricted (derivative) Class A ordinary shares on Aug 6, 2026 (reported as $0). On Aug 7, 2026 he also had a conversion/exercise of 527,200 derivative shares recorded as both acquired and disposed on the same day (each reported at $0). The filing shows no cash amounts for these transactions.

Key Details

• Transaction dates and prices:
  • Aug 6, 2026 — Grant/award (A): 1,966,824 derivative shares @ $0 (acquired).
  • Aug 7, 2026 — Exercise/conversion (M): 527,200 derivative shares @ $0 (acquired).
  • Aug 7, 2026 — Exercise/conversion (M): 527,200 derivative shares @ $0 (disposed) — same-day disposition of the 527,200 shares.
• Shares owned after transaction: Not specified in the provided filing details.
• Footnotes/other highlights:
  • F1: Reported Class A ordinary shares are held in ADR form; 1 American Depositary Share (ADS) = 8 Class A ordinary shares.
  • F2: Handsome Reward Limited (a BVI company) is wholly owned by Mr. Li and is referenced in the filing.
  • F3/F4: The restricted shares carry multi-year vesting schedules: one grant vests annually over 4 years starting Aug 6, 2027; another vests annually over 4 years starting Aug 7, 2026. Restricted shares have no expiration date.
  • Remark: Ms. Melissa Ma (Mr. Li’s wife) holds shares in her personal capacity (2,031,768 Class A and 84,720,000 Class B ordinary shares); Mr. Li disclaims beneficial ownership of those holdings.
• Filing timeliness: Form filed Aug 10, 2026. Based on the Aug 6–7 transaction dates, the filing appears to have been submitted within the standard two-business-day Form 4 window.

Context

• For derivative transactions: the filing shows an exercise/conversion of 527,200 derivative shares followed by a same-day disposition of those 527,200 shares. That pattern indicates the converted shares were transferred or sold the same day they were acquired (the filing does not state proceeds).
• For investors: these are insider derivative conversions and restricted-share grants, not an open-market purchase. Grants and vesting schedules represent compensation/longer-term incentives rather than a direct bullish purchase signal.