It's been a banner year for Chinese search powerhouse Baidu (BIDU 0.98%), whose shares have popped well over 50%.
Source: Baidu.
From the looks of it, the company has shaken off many of the risks that caused investors to shun this amazing growth story for much of 2012 and that made it a uniquely attractive buying opportunity at the time.
Baidu reported its third-quarter earnings this week, and it was mostly business as usual for the Google of China. In sifting through the report, the company's key growth drivers appear to be firmly intact, with the company growing its sales an impressive 42% for the quarter.
However, Baidu did see profit margins also contract meaningfully, as it ramps spending in a big way to solidify its mobile platform and to stave off a growing contingent of competitors led by dominant browser player Qihoo360, which is determined to eat into Baidu's search dominance.
So all in all, what should investors make of Baidu's earnings this week?
In this video, tech and telecom analyst Andrew Tonner breaks down Baidu's most recent earnings report and what it should mean for investors.
