Baidu top revenue estimates in first three months

China’s search engine giant Baidu Inc surpassed quarterly revenue estimates on Thursday as a resurgence of COVID-19 in China and accompanying restrictions boosted demand for its cloud and artificial intelligence (AI) products, reports Reuters.

The news drove Baidu’s US-listed shares more than 5% up in pre-market trading even as the company cautioned that the second quarter would be more challenging.

Revenue for the three months to March 31 rose 1% to RMB 28.41 billion ($4.22 billion), the slowest growth in six quarters, but topped an analysts’ average estimate of 27.82 billion, IBES data from Refinitiv showed. It posted a net loss of RMB 885 million, or RMB 2.87 per American Depository Share (ADS), amid an economic downturn and pandemic resurgence in China.