Google's 51 percent revenue rise falls short of expectations
Google reported revenues of $4.8 billion for the quarter ended December 31, representing a 51 percent increase over fourth quarter 2006 revenues of $3.2 billion and a 14 percent increase over third quarter 2007 revenues of $4.2 billion. Net of payments made to partners who carry Google's ads on their websites, the company's revenues were $3.39 billion. Those numbers fell short of expectations of analysts polled by Thomson Financial, who believed Google would post earnings of $4.44 a share on $3.45 billion in revenue. Google reported fourth-quarter profits of $1.2 billion, up from $1.1 billion in the third quarter of 2007.