Google profit beats estimates

(CNNMoney.com) -- Shares of Google Inc. rose in after-hours trading Thursday after the Internet search company said its first-quarter profit climbed 8.9% and topped Wall Street's forecast, amid a tough advertising environment.

Net income for the three months ended March 31 totaled $1.42 billion, or $4.49 per share, compared with $1.31 billion, or $4.12 per share, a year ago.

Results included charges of 67 cents per share for special items. Without the charges, earnings were $5.16 per share for the Mountain View, Calif.-based company.

A consensus estimate of analysts polled by Thomson Financial, who typically exclude one-time items from their estimates, predicted $4.93 per share.

Sales rose almost 6% to $5.51 billion from $5.19 billion last year. Excluding commissions paid to advertising partners, sales totaled $4.07 billion, which missed analysts' forecast of $4.08 billion.

In the previous earnings period, Google posted its first-ever drop in quarterly profit.

Google (GOOG, Fortune 500) stock was trading almost 1% higher to $392.24 in after-hours action Thursday after rising as high as 5.7% following the earnings release.

"It's not an expensive stock, and stocks are rallying even on bad news," said Jeff Rath, analyst at Canaccord Adams. "There's a building belief that the worst is behind us."

January and February were difficult months for Web search, but the trends started to improve in March and may be stabilizing, Rath said.

'Feeling the impact'
"Despite the tough economic climate, we had a good quarter," chief executive Eric Schmidt said in a conference call. "But no company is recession-proof, and Google is definitely feeling the impact."

Consumers are still searching on Google, but they're buying less, Schmidt said. "The shift to online gives us an advantage, so we're well-placed for the recovery when it occurs," he said.

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U.S. Stocks Retreat After Google, Caterpillar Earnings Miss Estimates

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. stocks stumbled at the end of
a week of second-quarter earnings, pulling down the Standard &
Poor's 500 Index and Dow Jones Industrial Average from records.

Google Inc., owner of the most-popular Internet search
engine, plunged the most since February 2006 after posting
profit below analysts' estimates. Caterpillar Inc. accounted
for almost half of the Dow average's decline after earnings
dropped because of falling demand for truck engines. Citigroup
Inc. pushed financial shares to the steepest drop in the S&P
500 after predicting bad loans will increase.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

U.S. Stocks Retreat After Google Earnings Miss Estimates; Microsoft Drops

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. stocks retreated after Google
Inc. posted profit below analysts' estimates and Microsoft
Corp. said Xbox sales fell short of its own forecast.

Google, the most-popular Internet search engine, and
Microsoft, the biggest software maker, led the Standard &
Poor's 500 Index down from a record. Caterpillar Inc. declined
after the largest maker of earthmoving machines said profit
dropped due to the housing slump. Its shares pushed the Dow
Jones Industrial Average lower a day after it closed above
14,000 for the first time.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Google profit disappoints on expenses, shares drop

(Reuters) - SAN FRANCISCO, July 19 - Web search leader Google Inc. reported on Thursday a 28 percent rise in profits that fell short of consensus expectations, as a recent jump in operating expenses offset market share gains against rivals.



Shares tumbled 5.5 percent in extended trade after Google said net income rose to $925 million, or $2.93 a diluted share, compared with the year-ago quarter's $721.1 million, or $2.33 per share. Excluding one-time items and stock option expenses, Google posted a profit of $1.12 billion or $3.56 per share, which was 3 cents per share short of Wall Street targets.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Australian gov't agency calls Google ads deceptive

(Reuters) - The claims are the latest in a string of cases centered on
trademark rights that argue Google's pay-per-click advertising
system -- the company's mainstay revenue generator -- is used
by competitors to unfairly grab business from rivals.




The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, or
ACCC, said in a statement on its Web site that it has filed a
case in the Federal Court in Sydney against auto dealer Trading
Post Australia Pty Ltd. and various Google subsidiaries.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

US STOCKS-Earnings optimism, Boeing push indexes up

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, July 9 - U.S. stocks rose on Monday at
the start of the earnings reporting season as investors bet
companies will beat profit forecasts following signs of
strength in the economy.




Positive broker comments on companies, including Google Inc
and Home Depot Inc , also added to the positive
tone, along with a rise in plane maker Boeing Co.


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US FTC urges caution on "net neutrality" proposals

(Reuters) - Network neutrality proposals, backed by Internet content
companies like Google Inc. and eBay Inc. ,
would bar Internet providers from charging extra fees to
guarantee access to the Internet or give priority to some
content.




In a report, the FTC sided with high-speed Internet
providers such as AT&T and Verizon , saying the
government should be cautious about imposing such regulations.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

U.S. Stock-Index Futures Advance; Bear Stearns, Apple, Google Shares Climb

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. stock-index futures advanced
after oil prices fell and concerns eased that losses tied to
subprime mortgages will hurt banks' earnings.

Bear Stearns Cos. climbed after a Lehman Brothers analyst
said the investment bank's bailout of a money-losing hedge fund
won't hurt its earnings. Apple Inc., maker of the iPod music
player, and Google Inc., the world's most popular Internet search
engine, gained after brokerages recommended buying the shares.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

PRESS DIGEST - Wall Street Journal - June 20

(Reuters) - * Two Bear Stearns hedge funds were close to being
shut down as a rescue plan fell apart. Lender Merrill said it
would move to seize collateral and sell it.




* Microsoft Corp. has agreed to make changes to
Vista following complaints by Google Inc. to antitrust
officials that the software hampers rival desktop search
programs.


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U.S. backs Microsoft against Google complaint: NYT

(Reuters) - The complaint, which is tied to a consent decree that monitors Microsoft's behavior, has not been made public by Google or the judge overseeing the consent decree, the article said.




State officials told the newspaper that a memo by Thomas Barnett, an assistant attorney general, rejected the Google complaint, repeating legal arguments made by Microsoft.


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Google defends data policy after EU warning

(Reuters) - The world's top Internet search engine on Friday said it would respond by June 19 to a letter from a European Union data protection advisory group expressing concern it was keeping information on users' searches for too long.




"The concern of EU law is that a company that collects data on its customers should keep it as long as it is necessary, but not longer," Peter Fleischer, Google's global privacy counsel, told Reuters in a telephone interview.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News