$Baidu, Inc. (BIDU.US) $Net profit rose 277% compared with the same period last year, and share prices rose more than 5% in after hours.

Baidu, Inc. released his 2018 Q1 results on Thursday. Baidu, Inc. 's Q1 performance also exceeded Wall Street analysts' expectations due to the growth of online advertising business, and Q2's performance expectations were also stronger than analysts' expectations. Driven by this positive factor, Baidu, Inc. closed up more than 8% on Thursday plus an after-hours increase:

Source: Futu Securities

Performance Summary:

• Revenue was 20.9 billion yuan ($3.33 billion), up 31% from a year earlier, with mobile accounting for 78% of revenue. Although the growth rate was the lowest in the last three quarters, Baidu, Inc. 's revenue in the first quarter of this year still exceeded analysts' estimates of 20.2 billion yuan.

• Net profit was 6.7 billion yuan ($1.1 billion), an increase of 277% over the same period last year.Excluding GAAP, Baidu, Inc. 's first-quarter net profit was 5.7 billion yuan ($914 million) and diluted profit per share was 16 yuan ($2.60), exceeding the average estimate of 10.57 yuan by Wall Street analysts.

• Q2 revenue this year is expected to range from 24.91 billion yuan ($3.93 billion) to 26.19 billion yuan ($4.13 billion), stronger than the average analyst estimate of 24.3 billion yuan.

However, the increased content cost of iQIYI, Inc. 's newly listed online video business and Baidu, Inc. 's investment in recruiting artificial intelligence engineers may put pressure on Baidu, Inc. 's profitability for some time to come.

At the same time, iQIYI, Inc., which is nearly 70 per cent owned by Baidu, Inc., also released its first financial results after trading.

$iQIYI, Inc. (IQ.US) $Q1 income increased by 57%, net loss narrowed

Its shares closed up 4.11% and fell 1.23% in after-hours trading.

Source: Futu Securities

Performance Summary:

• Total revenue was 4.9 billion yuan ($777.6 million), up 57 per cent from a year earlier.

• The operating loss was 1.1 billion yuan ($169.4 million), with an operating loss rate of 22%, compared with 1 billion yuan and 34% in the same period last year.

• IQIYI, Inc. posted a net loss of 395.7 million yuan ($63.1 million), compared with 1.1 billion yuan in the same period last year.

• The fully diluted loss per common share was 1.97 yuan ($0.31), compared with 5.37 yuan per share in the same period last year.

$Amazon.Com Inc (AMZN.US) $Q1 revenue increased by 43% year-on-year, and net profit increased by 125% year-on-year.

Its revenue and net profit far exceeded market expectations, with its shares closing up 3.96 per cent and surging 6.72 per cent to an all-time high of $1618.21 in after-hours trading.

Source: Futu Securities

Performance Summary:

• Total sales were $51.042 billion, compared with $35.714 billion in the same period last year, up 43% from a year earlier.

• According to GAAP, net profit was $1.629 billion, compared with $724 million in the same period last year, up 125 per cent from $3.27 per diluted share and $1.48 per share in the same period last year, up 121 per cent from a year earlier.

• Amazon.Com Inc's cloud business (AWS) had revenue of $5.442 billion, compared with $3.661 billion in the same period last year, up 49 per cent from a year earlier.

• Revenue in North America was $30.725 billion, up 46 per cent from $20.992 billion in the same period last year.

• Revenue in the international market was $14.875 billion, compared with $11.061 billion in the same period last year, up 34 per cent from a year earlier.

More blockbuster corporate financial reports:The strongest earnings season hit, with Facebook, Baidu, Inc. and Intel Corp soaring by more than 8% overnight.

(editor / Wu Dongxia)