Baidu results just beat expectations

Chinese tech group Baidu eked out better-than-expected quarterly revenue Tuesday, thanks to a 31% jump in its cloud business that offset slowing online ads for China’s largest search engine, reports Nikkei Asia. Total revenue shrank 5% on the year to RMB 29.65 billion ($4.3 billion) in the second quarter, slightly higher than the average estimate of RMB 29.30 billion from analysts surveyed by Refinitiv. The company swung to a net profit of RMB 3.64 billion from a year-earlier loss.

Nasdaq- and Hong Kong-listed Baidu’s ad revenue, which contributes around 62% of its total revenue, fell 10% year over year in the second quarter as China’s economy slowed.

Chief Executive Robin Li blamed the decline on the impact of COVID-19 on major cities, especially Shanghai and to a lesser extent Beijing, in April and May, but said ad revenue started to recover since June.