Google Earnings Fall Short of Estimates in Q4

AdSense Revenues Soar 37% vs. Q4 2006

By Alex Weprin -- Broadcasting & Cable, 1/31/2008 6:09:00 PM

Google announced its fourth-quarter earnings Thursday, showing increases in revenue and profits from last year. However, the final numbers fell short of some analysts’ expectations. Google’s stock was down 7% for the day at press time, including post-market trading.

The company posted revenues of $4.83 billion, an increase of 51% over Q4 2006 and 14% over Q3 2007. Net income for the quarter was $1.21 billion compared with $1.07 billion in Q3.

Operating expenses were up over the previous quarter, totaling $1.43 billion, up from $1.35 billion in Q3.

Google’s AdSense program soared, generating $1.64 billion in revenue, a 37% increase over 2006 when the company brought in $1.2 billion through the program, and up 12% from Q3 2007.