Google Drops The Ball On Earnings (GOOG)

Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) is out with earnings for its fourth quarter.  The internet search giant reported earnings of $8.22 EPS (but $9.50 EPS adjusted) and $8.13 billion in revenues.  Thomson Reuters had estimates of $10.49 EPS and $8.41 billion in sales.
 
With display advertising having been soft for a month or more, the drop and bounce seen recently has made predicting earnings difficult and the options traders were only pricing in a move of up to $ 17 to $20 in either direction after the earnings.

Google’s net came to $2.71 billion and the cost-per-click was down 8%.  Total employees came to 32.467 and the company’s cash and cash equivalents came to $44.6 billion at the end of the year.

Google’s consensus mean price target from Thomson Reuters is just over $725.00.

Shares closed up 1% at $639.57 but the stock is now trading down close to 9% at around $580.00 in the after-hours reaction.  We noted some dead air in the stock chart if its 50-day moving average did not hold and that is exactly what you are witnessing.

JON C. OGG