Chart of the Day: China’s Tech Giants First Quarter Earnings

China’s major tech companies have released their financial results for the first quarter, with search engine giant Baidu Inc. recording its first loss since 2005 and e-commerce upstart Pinduoduo Inc.’s loss widening nearly sevenfold.

New York-listed Baidu posted a net loss of 327 million yuan ($47.34 million), its first quarterly loss since going public almost 15 years ago. The company’s CEO Robin Li has attributed the firm’s poor performance to China’s slowing economy and tightened regulations on content that hit its bread-and-butter online marketing business.

However, Baidu’s problems could prove more stubborn, as its search engine is shedding users — a trend likely to continue.

In another dramatic change, Pinduoduo saw its loss in the first quarter surge by nearly 600% to 1.9 billion yuan. As the 4-year-old company is still in a period of rapid expansion amid fierce competition with sector leaders Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and JD.com Inc., it is expected that Pinduoduo will stay in the red in the near future.

Contact reporter Mo Yelin ([email protected])