News
Google 2Q Earnings More Than Double
Google's second-quarter profit more than doubled, maintaining the Internet
search leader's penchant for topping analysts' high expectations and further
underscoring the advantage the company has built over its chief rivals.
The Mountain View, Calif.-based company said Thursday that it earned $721.1
million, or $2.33 per share, during the three months ended in June. That compared
with net income of $342.8 million, or $1.19 per share, at the same time last
year.
Excluding expenses for employee stock compensation and several other one-time
items, Google said it would have earned $2.49 per share _ soaring past the average
estimate of $2.22 per share among 32 analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial.
It marks the seventh time in eight quarter as a public company that Google
has surprised Wall Street with higher-than-expected earnings.
Revenue for the period totaled $2.46 billion, a 77 percent increase from $1.38
billion a year ago.
Google's revenue fell to $1.67 billion after subtracting commissions paid to
its partners in the Internet's largest advertising network. That figure also
topped the average analyst estimate, according to Thomson Financial.
The results came out after the stock market closed Thursday. Google Inc.'s
shares fell $11.88 to close at $387.12 on the Nasdaq Stock Market, then regained
$5.42, or 1.4 percent, in extended trading.
Google's showing contrasted sharply with the second-quarter performance of
Yahoo Inc., which disappointed investors earlier this week by merely matching
Wall Street's consensus estimate and then exacerbated the letdown by postponing
a key piece of advertising technology aimed at boosting its revenue.
Meanwhile, Google seems determined on widening its already formidable lead
in Internet search _ a field that it has dominated so thoroughly in recent years
that the company's name has become accepted as an English verb for looking things
up.
"Our strong performance results from our clear focus on increasing the
quality of user experience, particularly in search and ads," Google CEO
Eric Schmidt said.