Baidu shares dive on earnings miss

Baidu shares skidded Monday after the Chinese Internet colossus reported earnings shy of most market expectations.

Baidu's profit for the second quarter was 3.66 billion yuan ($591 million), up slightly from 3.55 billion yuan in the same quarter a year earlier.

Sometimes referred to as the Chinese answer to Google, Baidu reported revenues rose 38 percent from a year earlier to 16.57 billion yuan ($2.7 billion).

But the results were below market forecasts, and Baidu shares tumbled  8.69 percent to $180.50 in after-market trading on the Nasdaq that followed release of the earnings figures.

Baidu had ended the formal trading day down 4.16 percent.

Company executives touted the earnings as showing the company is well positioned in the market, particularly when it comes to staying in tune with people increasing using smartphones or tablets to access the Internet.

"As we continue to connect people with services and enable closed loop transactions, we are creating a transactional business model as Baidu  grows and evolves in the age of mobile," chief executive Robin Li said in the earnings release.

He maintained that the company's cornerstone search business delivered "solid growth."

Some 629 million people used Baidu mobile search during the month of June, an increase of 24 percent from the same month last year, according to the earnings report.

In addition to its search engine business, Baidu invests in other technology areas including artificial intelligence, and has taken a stake in the global ride-sharing service Uber. Media reports say that like Google, it is also working on a driverless car.