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Bloomberg
Baidu Inc announced a $5 billion share buyback after
reporting better-than-expected revenue, reflecting how its cloud computing service is offsetting an advertising lull during China’s economic downturn.
Its shares gained 6% in pre-market US trading. Sales held steady at 33.1 billion yuan ($4.8 billion) for the three months ended December, compared with expectations for 32.1 billion yuan.
Net income almost tripled to about 5 billion yuan during the quarter, boosted by gains in its investments.
Baidu is now embracing anticipations of an economic rebound as China’s giant internet sector emerges from a two-year drought underscored by a steady stream of regulatory investigations and far-reaching pandemic curbs.
In December, Xi Jinping’s government dismantled most of its Covid restrictions and opened the Chinese borders for travellers a month later.