In a move that may bode well for its Chinese stock peers, Sohu.com (NASDAQ:SOHU) is back with a vengeance after a stellar March-quarter report. The company earned $0.16 a share for the period, or $0.20 before stock-based compensation charges. Analysts were expecting the online media specialist to earn only an adjusted $0.15 per share for the period. Those same Wall Street mavens expected revenue to climb 26% higher, and Sohu managed to grow the top line by a healthy 32%.
It wasn't just strength in the company's online advertising stronghold that helped make the quarter special. Even the company's wireless messaging business, which took a hit two years ago when the Chinese government began to crack down on cell phone content, was up nicely during the quarter.
Those wireless services first introduced investors to Sohu, SINA (NASDAQ:SINA), and NetEase (NASDAQ:NTES). The companies were among the sharpest Wall Street gainers in 2002, until weakness in wireless entertainment services sent them scrambling to different areas.
NetEase threw itself into the Internet gaming space, quickly climbing the ranks alongside other leaders like Shanda Interactive (NASDAQ:SNDA) and The9 (NASDAQ:NCTY). SINA expanded its growing presence in sticky online sites and services.
Sohu's recovery is impressive, since it was almost the forgotten pioneer after NetEase and SINA notched up gains in other leisure-friendly businesses. It may not be growing as fast as NetEase or Chinese search-engine leader Baidu.com (NASDAQ:BIDU) these days, but its healthy, high-margin numbers remain encouraging.
Sohu is also looking to earn between $0.20 to $0.22 a share in adjusted profits in the current quarter. That's at least two cents ahead of Wall Street's forecast. In other words, the company is back to trouncing targets, which is always a good thing.
With an impressive collection of portal properties that include popular Internet-information, interactive-search, and real estate sites, Sohu's on the comeback trail. What took you so long, Sohu?
NetEase and Shanda have been recommended to Motley Fool Rule Breakers newsletter service subscribers, while SINA has been singled out to Motley Fool Stock Advisor readers.
Longtime Fool contributor Rick Munarriz has been a fan of China's high-margin online stocks for a long time. He owns shares in Baidu. T he Fool's disclosure policy is always on call. Rick is also part of the Rule Breakers newsletter research team, seeking out tomorrow's ultimate growth stocks a day early.
