CNET - Google reported earnings today after the market closed, besting analysts' expectations for revenue and for earnings per share.
The search giant earned $2.5 billion on revenue (after traffic acquisition costs were removed) of $6.92 billion. Deducting the cost of covering employee stock, Google's earnings came in a $8.74 a share.
The search giant earned $2.5 billion on revenue (after traffic acquisition costs were removed) of $6.92 billion. Deducting the cost of covering employee stock, Google's earnings came in a $8.74 a share.
According to First Call, analysts had expected $7.86 for earnings per share on revenue of $6.55 billion.
In the year-ago period, Google earned $1.8 billion on revenue after traffic acquisition costs of $5.09 billion were removed.
Google chief executive Larry Page noted that revenue, including traffic acquisition costs, topped $9 billion, calling it a "great quarter," in a statement. And he was effusive about the company's latest project, the Google+ social network.
"I'm super excited about the amazing response to Google+ which lets you share just like in real life," Page said.
Google continues to see growth from outside the United States. For the quarter, international sales hit $4.87 billion, representing 54 percent of total revenue. That's up from 53 percent in the first quarter of 2011 and 52 percent in the year-ago period.
See also:Google's operating expenses, other than cost of revenues, hit $2.97 billion in the quarter, or 33 percent of revenue, compared to $1.99 billion in the second quarter of 2010, or 29 percent of revenues. One driver for that increase was new hiring, which Page acknowledged on a conference call with analysts, was "a little ahead" of where the company expected to be. In the quarter, Google added 2,452 workers in addition to the 1,916 employees it put on the payroll in the first quarter. In total, the company now employs 28,768 workers. More
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