Google Financial Report Fails to Meet Analyst Expectations

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Google has reported a 19 percent increase in revenue for its most recent quarter. Still, it failed to meet analyst expectations, largely because of difficulties related to mobile ads and it’s Motorola division.

Bloomberg’s Brian Womack reported, “Google Inc. (GOOG) shares fell the most in nine months after the owner of the most popular Internet search engine reported second-quarter sales and profit that missed estimates as mobile advertising crimped average prices. Revenue, excluding sales passed on to partner sites, was $11.1 billion, Google said yesterday on its website. That compared with an average analyst estimate of $11.3 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Profit before certain items was $9.56 a share, less than the average projection of $10.80. The shares slid as much as 3.9 percent.”

The Next Web’s Emil Protalinski noted, “Google’s Motorola business continues to bleed money at an alarming rate, losing $342 million in the second quarter of 2013…. The same quarter a year ago, Motorola’s operating loss was $199 million. In other words, the Q2 2013 results are more than $100 million lower than those in Q2 2012.”

Information Week’s Thomas Claburn observed, “CEO Larry Page nonetheless characterized the quarter as ‘great,’ noting in a statement that Google’s revenue was up 19% year-on-year. ‘The shift from one screen to multiple screens and mobility creates tremendous opportunity for Google,’ he said. ‘With more devices, more information and more activity online than ever, the potential to improve people’s lives even more is immense.'”

Computing’s John Leonard added, “In spite of Page’s words, like Facebook before it Google is struggling to maintain its core business – advertising revenues – as consumers move from PCs to mobile devices. Despite an increased number of clicks from mobile devices, the cost-per-click (CPC) of mobile ads has fallen in seven straight quarters, from a rate that is already well below that for standard web ads.”