Google Follows Internet Post-Earnings Sell-Off (GOOG)

Goole Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) has posted its earnings and the results came in at $4.43 non-GAAP EPS on revenues of $3.39 Billion on an ex-TAC basis, and these are not going to greatly received since Wall Street demand more from Google.  First Call had estimates at $4.45 EPS on ex-TAC revenues of $3.45 Billion. 

Google doesn’t offer guidance, but Wall Street is expecting roughly a 30% EPS gain in 2008 to $20.78 EPS and roughly a 40% revenue gain to $16.59 Billion.Its revenues before backing out traffic acquisition costs was $4.83 Billion.  Here were some key metrics:

• Google-owned sites generated revenues of $3.12 billion, or 65% of total revenues, in the fourth quarter of 2007.
• Google’s partner sites generated revenues, through AdSense programs, of $1.64 billion, or 34% of total revenues.
• Revenues from outside of the United States totaled $2.32 billion, representing 48% of total revenues in the fourth quarter of 2007.
• Google’s PAID CLICKS rose 30% year over year and rose 9% sequentially.
• As of December 31, 2007, cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities were $14.2 billion.
• Google employed 16,805 full-time global employees as of December 31, 2007, up from 15,916 full-time employees as of September 30, 2007.  That represents a 5.5% headcount growth.

Google had 3.88 million shares listed in the short interest as of last look in Mid-January, down from 4.07 million at the end of December.  Google shares closed up almost 2% at $560.00 on more than 10 million shares, although this fell $10 at the end of the day from a $570.19 high as traders may have gotten cold feet. In after-hours trading, Google shares are getting whacked by 8% down to $516+ on active volume (for a $500+ stock).

Jon C. Ogg
January 31, 2008