May 16 (Reuters) - China's Baidu ( BIDU ) beat

analysts' estimates for first-quarter revenue on Thursday,

driven by a recovery in advertising sales and higher demand for

its cloud products.

The company reported revenue of 31.51 billion yuan ($4.37

billion) for the three months ended March 31, compared to

analysts' average estimate of 31.21 billion yuan as per LSEG

data.

U.S.-listed shares of the company rose about 3% in premarket

trade.

Revenue from Baidu Core, which includes its search-based ad

sales, cloud offerings and autonomous driving initiatives, grew

4% to 23.8 billion yuan.

Meanwhile, revenue at its streaming service iQIYI

fell 5% to 7.9 billion yuan.

($1 = 7.22 Chinese yuan renminbi)