Sohu.com Inc (SOHU), Baidu.com, Inc. (ADR) (BIDU): 3 Must-Watch Industries Hurting Your Investment

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While there are billions of dollars to be made in online video, search, and online portals, the spoils — given the fast pace of technology — often go to the top dog in each industry. Unfortunately for Sohu.com Inc (NASDAQ:SOHU), it competes in each business but dominates in none of them. No matter which industry you’re analyzing, it seems that giants Baidu.com, Inc. (ADR) (NASDAQ:BIDU), Qihoo 360 Technology Co Ltd (NYSE:QIHU), Youku Tudou Inc (ADR) (NYSE:YOKU), and SINA Corp (NASDAQ:SINA) are dominating the competition.

Sohu.com Inc (NASDAQ:SOHU)

Here’s what you need to know about China’s tech landscape before you invest in Sohu.com Inc (NASDAQ:SOHU) or any of its competitors.

1. Online video is consolidating.
Back in the company’s fourth-quarter report, Sohu.com Inc (NASDAQ:SOHU) reported great traction for its TV segment. Online viewership jumped about 136% quarter over quarter thanks to demand for foreign TV — shows like America’s Breaking Bad. Unfortunately, any traction Sohu.com Inc (NASDAQ:SOHU) may have hoped for may soon halt.

Recently, Baidu.com, Inc. (ADR) (NASDAQ:BIDU) snatched up Shanghai-basied video provider PPS for $370 million. While the company’s video site iQiyi already has a great selection of domestic, long-form content — which helped it earn its name the “Hulu of China” — it didn’t have many foreign shows. With this deal, Baidu.com, Inc. (ADR) (NASDAQ:BIDU) can now squeeze out competitors like Sohu.com Inc (NASDAQ:SOHU) out of the foreign content realm.

While you may think Sohu.com Inc (NASDAQ:SOHU) has other niches to go into, it really doesn’t. On the other end of the online video market is Youku Tudou Inc (ADR) (NYSE:YOKU). Not only is the company the largest place to watch user-generated content, but it is also building out a library of long-form content akin to Baidu iQiyi ! As Youku Tudou and Baidu.com, Inc. (ADR) (NASDAQ:BIDU) iQiyi mimic each other for dominance, it’s clear: The online video market is consolidating fast and fringe competitors like Sohu seem unable to capture the content libraries needed to draw in eyeballs.

2. Baidu and Qihoo dominate search.
You may have read differing statistics on China’s search market, but one thing is for sure: Baidu.com, Inc. (ADR) (NASDAQ:BIDU) is still the top dog in search. Over the past year, its market share fell as low as 50%. Whatever the case, Baidu.com, Inc. (ADR) (NASDAQ:BIDU) still leads with about 80% of the search market.

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