Shares of search engine giant Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) have risen sharply in trading today after the Mountain View, California-based company reported better-than-expected earnings for the fourth quarter of 2012.
Although the expansion into device manufacturing and a drop in digital ad prices weighed on Google’s results, the company managed to post higher profit in the fourth quarter.
Larry Page, Google’s CEO said that the company ended 2012 with a strong quarter. Page said that the company’s revenue for the fourth quarter were up 36% on a year-over-year basis, and 8% on a quarter-on-quarter basis, and the company hit $50 billion in revenues for the first time last year. Page added that in today’s multi-screen world, the company faces tremendous opportunities as a technology company focused on user benefit.
For the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2012, Google reported earnings of $2.9 billion, or $8.62 per share, compared to net income of $2.7 billion, or $8.22 per share reported for the same period in the previous year. Excluding one-time items, the company reported earnings of $10.65 per share, beating Street estimates of $10.54 per share.
On a consolidated basis, the company’s revenue for the quarter was $14.42 billion, representing an increase of 36% over the same period in the previous year. Google-owned sites generated revenue of $8.64 billion in the fourth quarter of 2012, up from $7.29 billion reported for the same period in the previous year. The company’s aggregate paid clicks rose around 24% in the quarter. Aggregate cost-per-click fell 6% in the fourth quarter.
Google’s consolidated operating income on a GAAP basis was $3.39 billion in the fourth quarter. On a non-GAAP basis, consolidated operating income for the quarter was $4.04 billion.
Google shares have risen sharply in early trading today. At last check, the stock was trading 6.20% higher at $746.46 on volume of 1.08 million.
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