Google’s second-quarter earnings topped analysts’ estimates amid slower spending, reassuring investors who had been concerned about the internet search giant’s ability to keep costs in check.
Profit before certain items was $6.99 (€6.43) a share, the company said in a statement. Sales, minus revenue passed on to partners, rose 13 per cent to $14.35 billion. Analysts on average had projected $6.73 a share in profit on $14.3 billion in sales, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Chief executive Larry Page has sought to manage costs even as the company has stepped up investments in projects outside its main web search-advertising business.
Operating expenses rose 13 per cent from a year earlier, a smaller jump than the 21 per cent increase in the first quarter. In May the firm brought in new chief financial officer Ruth Porat from Morgan Stanley, and investors expect her to seek ways to rein in expenses.
The shares of Mountain View, California-based Google rose as much as 7 per cent in extended trading after the report. The stock gained 3.1 per cent to $601.78 at the close in New York, leaving it up 13 per cent this year. - (Bloomberg)
