As search engine king
Google, Inc.
(
GOOG
) announced 1st quarter earnings results after the bell Thursday
and market bloggers grabbed our calculators to check whether the
company topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate on earnings and
revenue, Google subsequently sprung unexpected news of a 2-for-1
stock split of GOOG shares.
Diluted earnings per share reached $8.75 for GOOG's Q1 results
(excluding traffic acquisition costs, or TAC), on $8,140 million in
revenues. Thus, it amounts to a mixed report: the Zacks Consensus
Estimates were expecting $8.24 per share (ex-TAC) on $8,150
million, so while Google managed to post a 6.2% positive earnings
surprise, it was a tick below expectations on the top-line.
But the 2-for-1 stock split is what has sent shares higher in the
after market, even following a 2.37% gain in regular Thursday
trading. The new shares will be non-voting capital stock and will
halve the rich $650+ price tag for future buyers. Some 20 minutes
after Google made the announcement, shares have gained an extra 1%.
Much will need to be explained in the conference call, such as the
status of Google's plans to acquire
Motorola Mobility
(
MMI
), on which regulators had signed off back in February, but a deal
has yet to be made. Is Google serious about keeping this company
and its still relatively large staff, or is it merely trying to
find a way to hang onto the rights to Motorola's many patents?
Also, though Google continues to grow, its average cost per click
is down for the second quarter in a row: -12% year over year and
-6% sequentially. However, Google reported better-than-expected 39%
volume growth for the quarter.
Analysts had been upwardly revising earnings expectations over the
past month, but this is after heavy downward revisions earlier in
the quarter. Today's $8.75 per share actual was still a penny below
what analysts were expecting 90 days ago.
Ultimately, how the stock split pays out for investors -- as
opposed to, say, how issuing a dividend yield has worked out for
Apple
(
AAPL
) shares -- is what will drive Google headlines through Friday and
perhaps beyond.
APPLE INC (
AAPL
): Free Stock Analysis Report
GOOGLE INC-CL A (
GOOG
): Free Stock Analysis Report
MOTOROLA MOBLTY (
MMI
): Free Stock Analysis Report
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