Google Reports Increased Profit for Q4 2012

From DailyTech: Google has reported impressive fourth quarter earnings for 2012, but missed analyst expectations on the revenue front.

Google's revenue was $11.34 billion in Q4 2012, not including Motorola Home's sales of $802 million. Analysts were expecting $12.4 billion for the quarter. But total revenues were $14.42 billion for the quarter, which was a 36 percent boost from Q4 2011.

But there was a bit of confusion as far as revenue goes. Google's treasurer said that analysts may not have adjusted their numbers to show that Motorola Home business, which Google sold for $2.35 billion in December, would be accounted for as a discontinued operation in the Q4 2012 earnings announced.

Google said its profit jumped 13 percent to $10.65 a share from the year-ago quarter of $9.50 a share.

Google's price per click, where advertisers pay Google each time someone clicks on an ad, rose 2 percent in Q4 2012 from Q3 2012. However, it was a 6 percent decrease from Q4 2011.

“We ended 2012 with a strong quarter,” said Google CEO Larry Page. “Revenues were up 36 percent year-on-year, and 8 percent quarter-on-quarter. And we hit $50 billion in revenues for the first time last year – not a bad achievement in just a decade and a half. In today’s multi-screen world we face tremendous opportunities as a technology company focused on user benefit. It’s an incredibly exciting time to be at Google.”

Investors were pleased with the Q4 2012 earnings, which droves shares up 4.9 percent in extended trading. The company closed at $702.87 in NASDAQ trading today.

View: Article @ Source Site