GOOGLE KICKS ASS IN Q4

I guess as the blogosphere grows, so will Google. Wonder how Microsoft will fight for a piece of this action?

Google blows away estimates
The # 1 search engine reports strong 4Q results; stock surges and lifts other Net stocks as well.

CNN/MONEY
February 1, 2005

Google reported strong increases in sales and earnings in the fourth-quarter Tuesday afternoon, surpassing even the most bullish projections of Wall Street analysts. Shares surged nearly 9 percent on the news.

This was Google's second quarterly report since going public last year. And as it did when it reported third quarter results in October, the search engine leader more than lived up to the significant hype.

Net income for the Mountain View, Calif-based company came in at $204 million, or 71 cents a share, a 650 percent increase from the same period last year. But after subtracting a $60 million charge for stock compensation expenses, Google posted pro-forma earnings per share of 92 cents. Analysts were expecting Google to report pro forma earnings of 77 cents per share. (full article)