Beijingle Bells at Sohu
By
Rick Aristotle Munarriz
June 18, 2008
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Sohu.com (Nasdaq: SOHU) has yet another reason to be excited about this summer's Olympic Games in Beijing. The popular Chinese Internet portal inked a deal with news website CCTV.com, allowing it to provide live webcasts and video on demand of the Olympic events.
Sohu was already a solid coattails-rider for the Beijing bash. The company is the official online reporter for the Olympic Games. The new deal will make Sohu.com even more magnetic during the competitions.
Oh, and before you point out how there may be a little geopolitical controversy with the games and boycott threats, save it. Chinese residents will be watching no matter what outsiders think.
The extra boost comes at a time when Sohu is doing little wrong. Over the past year, Sohu has done more than simply beat Wall Street's expectations. With every passing quarter, the margin by which it tops analyst guesstimates has widened.
| |
EPS Est.
|
EPS Actual
|
Difference
|
|
Q2 2007
|
$0.13
|
$0.15
|
15%
|
|
Q3 2007
|
$0.21
|
$0.25
|
19%
|
|
Q4 2007
|
$0.31
|
$0.39
|
26%
|
|
Q1 2008
|
$0.37
|
$0.55
|
49%
|
EPS = earnings per share.
Sohu isn't the only coattails-rider getting fresh market attention these days. Sterne Agee initiated coverage of public advertisers VisionChina Media (Nasdaq: VISN) and AirMedia (Nasdaq: AMCN) with buy ratings earlier this week.
Sohu is a Web veteran. Along with SINA (Nasdaq: SINA) and NetEase (Nasdaq: NTES), the three companies were some of the hottest performers in 2002. Their business models relied heavily on providing wireless handset content, but that market dried up with tighter government regulation. Sohu, SINA, and NetEase scrambled into new areas, with NetEase growing to become a leader in online multiplayer games, while Sohu and SINA beefed up their Web portals.
We're still a couple of months away from the Olympic Games, but I say we just get it over with and hand Sohu the gold medal it deserves.
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