China's Largest Search Engine
And their price seems even more bloated than GOOG. Let's have a look at their P/E ratios as of now:
- Microsoft - 18.81
- Yahoo - 26.48
- Google - 67.19
- Baidu - 262.68
Now I know that Microsoft isn't exactly as comparable to the other 3, but MSN is the third largest search engine, and the only other major search engine that is listed (at least that I know of). I thought Google's PE was ridiculous (at least when it was trading at $420+) but that is dwarfed by Baidu's PE which is more that twice that of Google's. Yes, China internet boom, expansion, huge market, etc. etc., but really - worth 262.68 times earnings? So next quarter, if Baidu releases some more positive results (chances are that it will) is it gonna rocket up to $100+? This is the type of bullish frenzy that scares me, because you just know that there's a waterfall coming up - and everyone is paddling faster towards it... can you hear the roar?