Baidu Blew By You

So much for living under Google's (NASDAQ:GOOG) shadow. Baidu (NASDAQ:BIDU) achieved what Big G could not, obliterating Wall Street's targets on the way to delivering stellar second-quarter growth.

Revenue surged by 109% to hit $52.7 million during the period. Earnings soared 143% higher to $0.54 a share, or $0.57 per share before stock-based compensation expenses.

Analysts were sorely off the mark, holding out for a profit of $0.43 per share on $49.3 million in revenue.

You know who has to feel pretty dumb right now? The folks who knocked Baidu shares 4% lower on Friday after Google missed its second-quarter bottom-line target.

With Baidu powering roughly two-thirds of all searches in China, nearly 128,000 advertisers have flocked to the site to reach the country's growing Web-enabled audience. The average sponsor is also spending more on Baidu, a healthy indicator of strength and model validation.

As the market leader, Baidu has relied on word-of-mouth testimonials and its killer brand to get noticed. It's a sharp contrast to a hungry Google, which has partnered with smaller portals like SINA (NASDAQ:SINA) to grow its mainland presence.

Is Baidu expensive? It may seem like an easy argument to make, especially with Baidu's shares having more than quadrupled since bottoming out 17 months ago. But based on last night's close, Baidu is trading at 58 times next year's earnings. The company is growing much faster than that.

It may not seem fair to go by last night's price -- especially with the stock soaring nearly 20% higher in after-hours trading last night -- but profit projections are also likely to be jacked higher over the next few days, too.

Well played, Baidu. Yahoo! (NASDAQ:YHOO) came in flat. Google missed. Unless my eyes deceive me, I think you've just become the search engine space's market darling.

Baidu is a selection in the Rule Breakers growth stock newsletter service. SINA and Yahoo! are Motley Fool Stock Advisor recommendations. Find out why with free 30-day subscription offers to either newsletter.

Longtime Fool contributor Rick Munarriz has been to mainland China just once, but he's longing to brush up on Mandarin and give it another go in the future. He does not own shares in any of the companies mentioned in this story. Rick is also part of the Rule Breakers newsletter research team, seeking out tomorrow's ultimate growth stocks a day early. The Fool has a disclosure policy.