Shares of Baidu Inc. (NASDAQ:BIDU) rallied on Friday after the Chinese internet giant posted first-quarter earnings that handily beat Wall Street analyst expectations.
Investors cheered strong growth in Baidu’s advertising business and sent its US-listed shares sharply higher by nearly 5% to $250.50 in pre-market trade.
For the quarter ended March 31, Baidu booked earnings on Thursday of US$2.60 per share on revenue of US$3.3bn. The consensus earnings estimate was US$1.64 per share on revenue of US$3.3bn.
The firm, which has had to bounce back from a crushing medical advertising scandal in 2016 which revolved around fake health care products, said it was now taking extra measures to clean up content on its platforms.
The company said it expects second-quarter revenue of US$3.97bn to US$4.17bn. The current consensus revenue estimate is US$3.91bn for the quarter ending June 30, 2018.
During a conference call with analysts on Friday, CNBC reported that Baidu CEO Robin Li said the Chinese language internet search provider, has employed artificial intelligence technology to target “click-bait and inappropriate content.” Baidu removed 20.2 billion malicious web pages in 2017, CNBC reported.
"We had a strong start in 2018, with our core business exhibiting robust growth, and we continue to execute on our strategy to strengthen Baidu's mobile foundation and lead in AI. Through innovation, search plus feed is powering strong monetization,” said Baidu CEO Robin Li in an earnings statement.