This is the story of Qihoo 360 Technology (QIHU), a company that got a modest start in 2005 in Beijing, China. Initially the company was engaged in run-of-the-mill reselling of third party antivirus software and user generated content search. The transition point was when the company started providing its own antivirus software for free. The stock, public since 2011 and trading under the symbol QIHU on the NYSE, has taken flight.
Qihoo has quickly become the top provider of Internet security software in China when measured by the user base. The company is taking share from Baidu (BIDU). On Monday, after the company’s earnings release Sunday in Beijing, the stock traded as high as $82.35; the 52-week low is $20.01.
Take a look at the following statistics from its second quarter 2013 results of operations:
- Revenues grew 108% year over year.
- Net income from its popular Qihoo 360 operation grew 372%.
- The reach of its mobile security product grew by 182%.
- Average clicks per day on its Personalized Start-up Page including subpages reached 590 million compared to 368 million one year ago.
- Its PC based products achieved penetration of 96%.
- Net margin increased to 21.8% compared to 9.6% in the same quarter in 2012.
Stocks tend to move not so much on absolutes but based on the differential between expectations and reality…Read more at Forbes