Google's (GOOG) Baidu (BIDU) Problem

Investing

Published: October 26, 2007 4:47 am

Last Updated: March 26, 2020 12:31 pm

Baidu (BIDU) had a good quarter. A very good one. Revenue rose 108% to $66 million. Net income was up 114% to $24 million. That seems small by Google’s standards.

But, Baidu said that revenue in Q4 could be as high as $77 million, which would be an improvement of 112% over last year.

The results may seem modest in dollar terms, but they are a sign that Baidu is holding its share of the search market in China. That is probably a fairly good sign that Google (GOOG), which is in second place, it not cutting into Baidu’s lead.

It is surprising that Google has not done better in the world’s most populated country. It now ranks just behind the US in total internet users and will probably move into the top spot in the next couple of years. If Google can’t dominate search in China, it leave a very big hole in it global strategy.

Google may be doing well at almost everything, but Baidu’s results say it is still not doing well in China.

Douglas A. McIntyre

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