Feb 26 (Reuters) - China's largest search engine operator Baidu topped market estimates for quarterly revenue on Thursday, as strong growth in its cloud business helped cushion the hit from persistent weakness in its mainstay advertising business.

Baidu’s U.S.-listed shares fell 3% after earnings report.

The company reported total revenue of 32.74 billion yuan ($4.79 billion) for the quarter ended December, compared with analysts' average estimate of 32.62 billion yuan, according to data compiled by LSEG.