In one of the most talked about IPOs of 2005, shares of China's leading Internet search engine Baidu.com soared 269% in early action to a high of $99.50, after pricing at $27. This represents the largest first day pop since semiconductor manufacturer Marvell Technology closed up 278% in its debut back on June 26, 2000. Goldman Sachs, CS First Boston and Piper Jaffray served as underwriters for Baidu.com, and the stock is listed on the Nasdaq under the symbol "BIDU".
At its high of $99.50, Baidu.com has a total market capitalization of $3.4 billion, or about 158x its trailing net revenue of $21.6 million. In comparison, U.S. search engine leaders Google (GOOG) and Yahoo! (YHOO) are currently valued at multiples to trailing revenue of 19x and 11x, respectively. In its most recent quarter ended June 30, 2005, Baidu.com reported an estimated 185% increase in net revenue, more than double Google's second quarter growth rate of 98% and more than triple the growth rate reported by Yahoo! of 51%.
