While so many others are reporting gloom and doom, the behemoth known as Google keeps moving onward and upward. Its fourth quarter net income might have been down to $382 million, or $1.21 a share, from $1.21 billion, or $3.79 a share, but that was due to charges on investments in Clearwire and AOL. But Reuters reports that its earnings were still $5.10 a share, surpassing the average analyst forecast of $4.95.
Revenue was up 18%, to $5.7 billion – not the towering figure it has been in the past, but still respectable, especially given the state of the economy. 67% of the revenue, or $3.81 billion, up 22% from a year ago, came from Google-owned sites like Google.com, and the company ended the year with $16 billion in cash.
The expectation was that pay-per-click ads would fall, and that hit Google stock prices last year, but in the event they’ve gone up 18%.
In after-hours trading, Google stock rose to $314.51 from its Nasdaq close of $306.50.
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