Google's Profit way up

Amazing

Google Inc.'s first-quarter profit surged to a nearly six-fold improvement...

Source: http://www.forbes.com/home/feeds/ap/...ap1967564.html

Google Inc. on Thursday posted a quarterly profit nearly six times higher than a year earlier, blowing past Wall Street targets as search advertising grew rapidly.

Source:http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp...oogle_earns_dc

[Nacho]

Go Google!!!!! I think the statement that's got to say "OUCH!" is:

That growth has made Google even more profitable than Sunnyvale-based Yahoo, a slightly older company with twice as many employees. Yahoo earned $204.6 million on revenue of $1.17 billion during its first quarter.

That's right, net income on a GAAP basis increased to $369 million or 29.4% of a record $1.256 billion in revenues for the first quarter of 2005 vs. 18% for Yahoo! I say "WOW"!

Not enough, here is more. One thing to keep a very good eye on:

Cash - As of March 31, 2005, Google had a cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities balance of $2.507 billion.

On a worldwide basis, Google employed 3,482 full time employees as of
March 31, 2005, up from 3,021 as of December 31, 2004.

Nice problem to have. Will it be a bubble that bursts? or will they manage it effectively well?

[hardball]

I wonder how much of that revenue is squeaky clean. I find it surprising that there wasn't some disclosure in regards to click fraud.

Several analysts have listed Google's singular dependence on search ad revenue as a key risk factor.

source:http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp...oogle_earns_dc
(I added the bolding.)


No mention of the click fraud suit.

I don't think the googlies are worried about the law suit. They can just hire a bigger gaggle of lawyers to drag it out until everyone gives up and goes home or dies. In American courts, he/she with the most money wins most all of the time and google has the money...

[arius]

Originally Posted by lots0

In American courts, he/she with the most money wins most all of the time and google has the money...

Ouch! that is cynical. Google seems to have a pretty good track record of ethical behaviour. If they lose the good will of the advertisers, their customers, then there goes all their profits. Don't worry they'll address it. There future depends on it. That will be a win win for one and all.

[hardball]

"Sergey Brin, who co-founded Google with Larry Page, addressed the issue of click fraud during a conference call. The practice -- which consists of illicit clicks on online ads as a way to steal money from Google and the advertisers -- has attracted a lot of attention recently as a potential hurdle to future growth.

"So far, there has not been a material issue for Google," Brin said. He added that the company's technology detects most of the click fraud before the company or its advertisers suffer a financial loss."

I guess we can all sleep better at night knowing that the fraud issue is just another myth. Sergey would tell us if something evil were afoot.