The outlook on Google’s earnings, which had been one of the few bright spots in the down economy, just dimmed a bit.
The company reported a weaker-than-expected 35% rise in quarterly net profit. Although Google attributed the miss to lower interest income and higher expenses for foreign currency hedges–and not weakened revenues from its ad business–its stock price took a hit, with shares dipping 7 percent in the wake of the announcement.
Analysts have long expected Google’s earnings to show some wear, as its merchant customers find it harder to make sales–and pay for advertising–to cash-strapped consumers. Still, the company in the past has always beaten expectations, until today. Excluding stock-based compensation costs, profit was $4.63 per share, below the $4.72 average of Wall Street analyst forecasts, according to Reuters. Still, gross revenue rose 39 percent to $5.37 billion, matching the average of analyst estimates ranging from $5.16 billion to $5.62 billion.
