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Google profits $1 billion in 1Q
Oh, Colon! Oh, Colon! 
Cha-ching!
Google brings in $1 billion in profit over the quarter. 69% increase in profit from the quarter year ago.
MSFT's gotta be hearing the footsteps behind them...
From the WSJ...
Cha-ching!
Google brings in $1 billion in profit over the quarter. 69% increase in profit from the quarter year ago.
MSFT's gotta be hearing the footsteps behind them...
From the WSJ...
Google's Profit Surges 69%
As Ad Sales Continue to Soar
By KEVIN J. DELANEY
April 19, 2007 5:47 p.m.
Google Inc. has increasingly become known as much more than a Web search company, as it expands into new products and types of advertising. But the Internet giant's core search business once again drove strong revenue and profit growth during the first quarter.
The Mountain View, Calif., company said first-quarter profit surged 69%, largely as a result of increases in its advertising revenue from its Web-search activity, which continues to surpass rivals such as Yahoo Inc. and Microsoft Corp. Revenue increased 63% to $3.66 billion compared to $2.25 billion a year earlier.
Google benefited from ongoing efforts to expand its ad sales activities outside the U.S., as growth in international markets outpaced its domestic growth during the quarter. In addition, it continued to reap benefits from partnerships it has struck with other Web sites and computer makers to broker advertising and distribute Google's search toolbar software. At the same time, Google said it hadn't backed off its massive investments in infrastructure such as computer servers and networking equipment used to run its services, spending $596.9 million during the first quarter compared to $366.6 million in the fourth quarter.
"We're ecstatic about our financial results this past quarter," said Chief Executive Eric Schmidt in a conference call with analysts. "It's the core business that is driving our success." Mr. Schmidt said Google was "still at the beginning" of its core search and advertising business, even as the company is trying to boost its sales of graphical display ads, such as banners, through its planned $3.1 billion acquisition of Internet advertising services company DoubleClick Inc. announced last week.
"We're still in the very early stages of display ads and branding ads and that whole area," said Google co-founder Larry Page.
Google reported results after regular trading hours. In 4 p.m. Nasdaq Stock Market composite trading, Google fell $4.36 to $471.65. In after-hours trading, Google was quoted at $484.60, up about 2.7%.
Shares in Google rival Yahoo had plunged about 12% Wednesday after the company posted an 11% drop in first-quarter net income, as an upgrade to its online ad systems failed to produce a positive surprise some investors had been hoping for. (Read about Yahoo's results.)
For the quarter, Google posted net income of $1 billion, or $3.18 a share, up from $592.3 million, or $1.95 a share, a year earlier. Excluding certain stock-based compensation and other factors, Google earned $3.68 a share. That beat analysts' mean consensus forecast of $3.30 a share on that basis, according to Thomson Financial. Revenue excluding commissions paid to marketing partners totaled $2.53 billion, slightly above analysts' estimates of $2.49 billion.
Google's rate of revenue growth continued to slow, a common occurrence when companies become larger and additional revenue gains come off a bigger base. First quarter revenue increased 63% from a year earlier, compared to 67% in the fourth quarter and 79% in the first quarter of 2006.
International operations formed 47% of Google's revenue, higher than the previous quarter, with Google executives highlighting strength in the U.K. and other European and Asian markets. Google's staff numbers increased 15% to 12,238 employees as of March 31, up from 10,674 as of Dec. 31.
Some analysts highlighted the growth in sales of ads that appear on Google's own sites. "The Google sites revenue was very strong and well above Yahoo -- the leadership gap continues to widen," said Anthony Noto, an Internet analyst at Goldman Sachs, whose firm owns Google shares and has done investment banking for Google and Yahoo within the past 12 months. Google handled 55.8% of U.S. Web search queries in Feb., compared with 20.7% for Yahoo and 9.6% for Microsoft, according to NetRatings Inc. Google's 40% growth rate in the number of queries handled compared with a year earlier far outpaced those rivals.
Google also announced that Mr. Schmidt was elected chairman of the board, in addition to holding the CEO title. The company hasn't had a chairman since it went public in 2004.
As Ad Sales Continue to Soar
By KEVIN J. DELANEY
April 19, 2007 5:47 p.m.
Google Inc. has increasingly become known as much more than a Web search company, as it expands into new products and types of advertising. But the Internet giant's core search business once again drove strong revenue and profit growth during the first quarter.
The Mountain View, Calif., company said first-quarter profit surged 69%, largely as a result of increases in its advertising revenue from its Web-search activity, which continues to surpass rivals such as Yahoo Inc. and Microsoft Corp. Revenue increased 63% to $3.66 billion compared to $2.25 billion a year earlier.
Google benefited from ongoing efforts to expand its ad sales activities outside the U.S., as growth in international markets outpaced its domestic growth during the quarter. In addition, it continued to reap benefits from partnerships it has struck with other Web sites and computer makers to broker advertising and distribute Google's search toolbar software. At the same time, Google said it hadn't backed off its massive investments in infrastructure such as computer servers and networking equipment used to run its services, spending $596.9 million during the first quarter compared to $366.6 million in the fourth quarter.
"We're ecstatic about our financial results this past quarter," said Chief Executive Eric Schmidt in a conference call with analysts. "It's the core business that is driving our success." Mr. Schmidt said Google was "still at the beginning" of its core search and advertising business, even as the company is trying to boost its sales of graphical display ads, such as banners, through its planned $3.1 billion acquisition of Internet advertising services company DoubleClick Inc. announced last week.
"We're still in the very early stages of display ads and branding ads and that whole area," said Google co-founder Larry Page.
Google reported results after regular trading hours. In 4 p.m. Nasdaq Stock Market composite trading, Google fell $4.36 to $471.65. In after-hours trading, Google was quoted at $484.60, up about 2.7%.
Shares in Google rival Yahoo had plunged about 12% Wednesday after the company posted an 11% drop in first-quarter net income, as an upgrade to its online ad systems failed to produce a positive surprise some investors had been hoping for. (Read about Yahoo's results.)
For the quarter, Google posted net income of $1 billion, or $3.18 a share, up from $592.3 million, or $1.95 a share, a year earlier. Excluding certain stock-based compensation and other factors, Google earned $3.68 a share. That beat analysts' mean consensus forecast of $3.30 a share on that basis, according to Thomson Financial. Revenue excluding commissions paid to marketing partners totaled $2.53 billion, slightly above analysts' estimates of $2.49 billion.
Google's rate of revenue growth continued to slow, a common occurrence when companies become larger and additional revenue gains come off a bigger base. First quarter revenue increased 63% from a year earlier, compared to 67% in the fourth quarter and 79% in the first quarter of 2006.
International operations formed 47% of Google's revenue, higher than the previous quarter, with Google executives highlighting strength in the U.K. and other European and Asian markets. Google's staff numbers increased 15% to 12,238 employees as of March 31, up from 10,674 as of Dec. 31.
Some analysts highlighted the growth in sales of ads that appear on Google's own sites. "The Google sites revenue was very strong and well above Yahoo -- the leadership gap continues to widen," said Anthony Noto, an Internet analyst at Goldman Sachs, whose firm owns Google shares and has done investment banking for Google and Yahoo within the past 12 months. Google handled 55.8% of U.S. Web search queries in Feb., compared with 20.7% for Yahoo and 9.6% for Microsoft, according to NetRatings Inc. Google's 40% growth rate in the number of queries handled compared with a year earlier far outpaced those rivals.
Google also announced that Mr. Schmidt was elected chairman of the board, in addition to holding the CEO title. The company hasn't had a chairman since it went public in 2004.
That should make Google giggle. 
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