Google shares up 2.7% on word of higher Q1 profits

Revenue was lower than expected, but profits were up

Google shares were up 2.74% Friday morning to $787 following the release of its Q1 2013 earnings report Thursday evening, after the close. 

The company's Q1 results were mixed. Google reported Q1 EPS of $11.58, while analysts were expecting $10.69. But revenue came in lighter than expected with $13.97 billion for the total quarter, compared to the $14.04 billion Wall Street was anticipating. Revenue was still up 31% over the same quarter last year.

Revenue excluding traffic acquisition costs (ex-TAC) came in at $11 billion—just a hair short of the $11.2 billion analysts predicted.

Net income came in at $3.90 billion, compared to $3.33 billion in Q1 2012.

“We invest the vast majority of our resources and time into core products, as well as big bets like Chrome, YouTube, and Android. But as CEO, it’s super important to focus on the future. Companies get comfortable doing the same thing with minor tweaks,” said CEO Larry Page in the call. “Take Gmail. When we released that, we were a search company. It was the same with Android. It’s why we’re investing in what appear to be speculative projects, like self-driving cars.”

Page also touched briefly on Google Glass: “Last week, after three years of work, we handed over the first Glass devices to developers.”

Page also mentioned Google Play: “In our first year, we’ve signed partnerships with all of the major movie studios, music labels, and publishers. Digital Content is now available in over 20 countries, seven of which launched in Q1, including India and Mexico.”

Google’s stock has been on a steady upward trajectory over the last couple of months, topping $800 a piece earlier this year after the company announced better than expected Q4 results. It’s strange to think that last year, Google and Apple shares were neck and neck, and Apple has since nose-dived while Google continues to climb. Apple, which is expected to reveal its March quarter earnings next week, has seen its shares tank to $392, marking the first time shares fell below the $400 mark since January 2012. 

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