April 28th, Beijing time, Sohu will announced its first quarter financial report of fiscal year 2008 right before the stock market open. Analyst from Citi Group raised rank of Sohu Stock from Hold to Buy, with target price raising from  USD 56 to USD 80.

According to the analyst, Sohu performed well in the first quarter. In addition, Sohu will be the most preponderant Chinese internet enterprise in the next 6 months.
This is mainly caused by the Olympic official sponsorship Sohu has gained, as well as the fast development of its online game section. At the same time, analysts considered the fast-face of increase in Sohu's performance will last into year 2009.

Analyst from Citi Group said that Sohu outperformed the expectation of investment banks and Wall Street. For this moment, Citi Group expected a Q1 operation revenue of USD 67.7 million for Sohu, a Non- CAAP income per share of USD 0.44. Analyst from Wall Street gave out an average revenue of USD 68.1, a Non- CAAP income per share of USD 0.44. Analyst from Citi Bank expressed positive expectation on its Q2 performance.

In addition, analyst from Citi Group pointed out that in year 2009, Sohu's online game section will see strong growth. In the 'Post Olympic Times', the brand of Sohu enterprise will be more developed. As expected by analyst, Sohu will take in USD 358 million, a YoY increase of 19%, a Non- CAAP income per share of USD 2.66.

As pointed out by analyst, Sohu will spend USD 10-15 million in Olympic related fields, which won't be counted in 2009. In addition, Sohu will spend multi-million USD on brand building, which means that Sohu will save a cost over USD 15 million.

According to Citi Group analyst, Sohu has become a gam company, no only a company with game business. Through 17173.com, Sohu is able to develop games based on the demand of Chinese players. Analyst expects Tian Long Ba Bu and Lu Ding Ji will contribute a lot to Sohu's operation revenue and profit growth.