Chinese Internet giant Baidu Inc (ADR) BIDU 0.7% announced on Thursday that it has approved a $1 billion share repurchase program. The buybacks will take place over the next year and will be funded by the company’s current cash balance.

Why Now?

It’s been nearly seven years since Baidu has repurchased a significant amount of its own stock, but the timing of this repurchase announcement was likely carefully calculated. Baidu’s shares are down more than 17 percent in the past week following the company’s disappointing Q2 earnings numbers. Shares have fallen more than 25 percent year-to-date.

Negative Momentum

The buyback announcement is likely intended to…

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