What happened
Shares of iQiyi (IQ 3.76%), a popular video streaming platform in China, jumped today after the company reported better-than-expected first-quarter results. The tech stock was up by 11.4% as of 11:12 a.m. EDT.
So what
The company reported a non-GAAP diluted loss per share of $0.25, which easily beat analysts' consensus estimate of a loss of $0.36 per share. iQiyi's revenue of $1.2 billion also inched past Wall Street's expectation of $1.18 billion.
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iQiyi's CFO Xiaodong Wang said in a press release, "Our total revenue in the first quarter has exceeded our previous guidance, recording healthy growth on both quarter-over-quarter and year-over-year basis."
Additionally, the company's management said that iQiyi added 3.6 million new subscribers in the quarter and lowered its content costs for the third consecutive quarter. The company's online advertising revenue also increased 25% from the year-ago quarter.
In addition to the good news in the first quarter, the company experienced a year-over-year decline in subscribing members to 105.3 million, down from 118.9 million, "due to the impact of COVID-19."
Now what
iQiyi's management issued guidance for the second quarter and expects sales between $1.1 billion and $1.17 billion. If the company meets its estimate, it'll represent flat year-over-year sales growth at the midpoint of guidance.
With iQiyi outpacing analysts' earnings by such a significant amount and a broader trend of investors shifting their attention back to technology stocks, it's no wonder the company's stock is soaring today.
