Baidu Inc. START,
U.S. deposit revenue rose more than 2% in extension session on Wednesday after China-based internet company reported earnings adjusted above Wall Street expectations and sales that met forecasts . Baidu said it earned $ 794 million, or $ 2.31 per share, in the fourth quarter, compared to $ 2.61 per share last year. Adjusted for unique items, Baidu earned $ 3.08 per share. Revenue rose 5% to $ 4,664 million. Analysts surveyed by FactSet expected Baidu to report adjusted earnings of $ 2.79 per share in sales of $ 4.67 million. “Baidu ended 2020 on a solid note and our business benefited from improving the macroeconomic environment and the digitization of the industrial Internet,” co-founder and CEO Robin Li said in a statement. “Our focus on innovation through technology is bearing fruit with Baidu Core’s unmarketed revenue growing 52% year-over-year in the fourth quarter,” he said. Baidu led sales in the first quarter of 2021 to between $ 4 billion and $ 4.4 billion, which would represent a growth rate of between 15% and 26% year-on-year.