Big earnings for Google
October 17, 2013
Google said Thursday that its quarterly profit rose to nearly $3 billion (2.2 billion euros), or $8.75 per share for the three months ending September 30. The company's stock price rose 6 percent to $943 per share in after-hours trading.
Over the same period last year, Google had an income of $2.2 billion, or $6.53 per share.
The Mountain View, California-based company has seen its advertising revenue decline in each of the last eight quarters. Internet users continue to shift towards using mobile devices like tablet PCs and smart phones, where advertising is less expensive because screen sizes are smaller. Google has seen its "cost per click" fall 8 percent from last year in the most-recent quarter after a 6 percent year-over-year drop the last quarter.
Nonetheless, the company has seen a 26 percent increase in the frequency people click on advertisements.
"Google had another strong quarter with $14.9 billion in revenue and great product progress," chief executive Larry Page said in a statement. "We are closing in on our goal of a beautiful, simple, and intuitive experience regardless of your device."
The company's mobile phone business, Motorola, recorded an operating loss of $248 million compared to $192 million lost in the same quarter last year.
dr/jm (AP, AFP, Reuters, dpa)