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SAN FRANCISCO - Web search leader Google reports a 46 per cent rise in profit that topped Wall Street expectations, fueled by recent accelerating market share gains and tightened cost controls.
Third-quarter net income rose to US$1.07 billion ($1.43 billion), or US$3.38 per diluted share, compared with the year-earlier quarter's US$733.3 million, or US$2.36 per diluted share. Excluding one-time items, profit was US$3.91 in the latest quarter.
Gross revenue rose 57 per cent to US$4.23 billion.
Wall Street was looking for a net profit, on average, of US$3.22 per share, according to Reuters Estimates. Excluding one-time items and stock compensation costs, the average analyst estimate was US$3.77 per share.
Analysts, on average, expected quarterly revenue to grow 54 per cent from a year ago to US$4.13 billion. Ever-larger numbers mean its growth rate is down from 70 per cent in the third quarter of 2006 and 96 per cent in the same period of 2005.
Third-quarter revenue forecasts ranged from US$4.00 billion to US$4.29 billion, according to Reuters Estimates. Fourth-quarter growth is expected to slow to 47 per cent. The company is growing four to five times faster than rivals Yahoo Inc and Microsoft Corp.
- REUTERS
