Monetizing

Google misses analysts estimates (31 Jan 2008)

...earnings per share were $4.43, short of analysts' average forecast of $4.47

Tempusfugit thinks that this is a bit of an over-reaction, or at least hopes it is! A 4 cent a share short-fall resulted in a $5,000 loss in his Google holdings!

So what's with the green text above and below?
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Wall Street analysts said Google's weaker-than-expected results had any number of contributing factors.

"They missed on revenue -- not by much -- but for the first time in a while," Sanford C. Bernstein analyst Jeffrey Lindsay said. "I don't think economic weakness has arrived yet," he said, adding, "They face competitive issues."

"Google is not taking share away from the other guys as easily as it was," Lindsay said. "The company is at the point where the raw gains in growth don't mask the trends in the marketplace so much anymore."

SOCIAL NETWORK WEAKNESS

Executives acknowledged Google has struggled to make inroads selling ads on social network sites -- now the Web's hottest market -- such as News Corp's MySpace.

Lindsay speculated Google is having trouble making money on its $900 million, three-year deal to sell advertising to MySpace customers.

Rising traffic acquisition costs may reflect the fact that Google pays MySpace whether or not it makes money selling ads on MySpace. "It's a toxic deal for Google," Lindsay said. "That is eating into margins."