Stellar Google Earnings Reaction for Ruth Portat

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By Chris Lange Updated Published
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Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOGL) reported its second-quarter earnings Thursday after the market closed. The company announced $6.99 in earnings per share (EPS) on $17.73 billion in revenue compared to Thomson Reuters consensus estimates of $6.71 in EPS on $17.75 billion in revenue. The same period from the previous year had $6.08 in EPS on $15.96 billion in revenue.

Overall what drove Google was a strong performance in its core search business, mobile in particular. This was also complemented by growth in YouTube and programmatic advertising.

The company had traffic acquisition costs of $3.38 billion compared to the same period from last year which had $3.29 billion.

In terms of its advertising revenues, Google websites generated $12.4 billion while Google Network members’ websites had revenues of $3.6 billion. Other revenues totaled $1.7 billion. Had foreign exchange rates remained constant from the second quarter of 2014 through the second quarter of 2015, revenues in this quarter would have been $1.1 billion higher with a constant currency growth rate of 18% year over year.

Aggregate paid clicks increased by 18% year over year. Paid clicks on Google websites increased 30% year over year and paid clicks on Google Network members’ websites was down 9%.

Ruth Porat, CFO of Google, commented on the earnings:

Our strong second quarter results reflect continued growth across the breadth of our products, most notably core search, where mobile stood out, as well as YouTube and programmatic advertising. We are focused every day on developing big new opportunities across a wide range of businesses. We will do so with great care regarding resource allocation.

At the end of the second quarter Google had cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities of $69.78 billion compared to $64.40 billion in the fourth quarter of 2014. At the same time, the company also had free cash flow of $4.47 billion up from $2.98 billion.

Google shares closed Thursday up 3.1% at $601.78 on a 52-week trading range of $490.91 to $608.91. Following the release of the earnings report, shares traded up 7.6% at $647.71 hitting a new high in the after-hours trading session. The company’s stock has a consensus analyst price target of $641.36.

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About the Author Chris Lange →

Chris Lange is a writer for 24/7 Wall St., based in Houston. He has covered financial markets over the past decade with an emphasis on healthcare, tech, and IPOs. During this time, he has published thousands of articles with insightful analysis across these complex fields. Currently, Lange's focus is on military and geopolitical topics.

Lange's work has been quoted or mentioned in Forbes, The New York Times, Business Insider, USA Today, MSN, Yahoo, The Verge, Vice, The Intelligencer, Quartz, Nasdaq, The Motley Fool, Fox Business, International Business Times, The Street, Seeking Alpha, Barron’s, Benzinga, and many other major publications.

A graduate of Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, Lange majored in business with a particular focus on investments. He has previous experience in the banking industry and startups.

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