What happened
Shares of Sohu.com (SOHU +1.49%) were up 19.8% as of 3:30 p.m. EDT Monday after the Chinese internet media company announced better-than-expected first-quarter 2019 results.
More specifically, Sohu's quarterly revenue fell 5% year over year to $431 million, translating to an adjusted (non-GAAP) net loss of $55 million, or $1.39 per American depositary share (ADS). Analysts on average were expecting a wider loss of $1.53 per share on revenue of just $405 million.
Image source: Getty Images.
So what
CEO Charles Zhang credited the company's revenue outperformance to relative strength in its search segment (up 6% to $234 million) and online games segment (down 6% to $99 million), with the latter particularly helped by mobile search and keyboard product growth at Sogou, a spinoff that Sohu has a 33% stake in. Zhang also pointed to progress with cost controls at Sohu Video, and diversifying revenue sources for its Sohu Media business.
Now what
For the second quarter of 2019, Sohu expects revenue between $469 million and $494 million, with an adjusted net loss per ADS attributable to the company of between $0.95 and $1.20. Here again -- and though we don't pay close attention to Wall Street's demands -- even the lower ends of both ranges compare favorably to analysts' consensus estimates for a per-ADS loss of $1.49 on revenue closer to $451 million.
Coupled with Sohu's similarly encouraging start to the year, the market had little choice but to bid up Sohu shares in response today.
