Baidu beats forecasts, buys streaming service

Baidu has beaten forecasts.

China’s top search engine saw revenue hit almost 4.3 billion dollars between July and September.

That as ad spending picked up from the lows seen in the spring lockdowns.

It’s recovered in line with a strong rebound for the country’s economy.

Baidu also benefited from a 7% increase in revenue at iQIYI, sometimes called the Netflix of China.

Subscriber numbers there hit close to 105 million in September.

IQIYI remains under a cloud, however, facing a U.S. probe into allegations it inflated user numbers and other data.

It called the allegations ‘erroneous and unsubstantiated’.

Now Baidu says it’s bulking up again, buying streaming platform YY Live from social media firm JOYY.

That deal is valued at about 3.6 billion dollars.

Baidu's U.S.-listed shares are up 17% so far this year, easily beating the 12% gain for the S&P 500.