Google's Q1 figures exceed all expectations

Google’s first quarter figures have been announced and, true to form, the internet giant has exceeded all expectations.

by Helen Leggatt

24%207%20media%20logo.gif Google’s Q1 2007 profits rose 69 percent to $1 billion compared with the same period last year, and revenues rose 63 percent in the same period to a new quarterly high of $3.66 billion. The profit figures have exceeded most analysts’ predictions by around $40 million.

The results come not long after Yahoo reported an 11 percent fall in profit, to $142 million, and a rise of 9 percent in net sales to $1.18 billion. It seems even Yahoo’s Panama can’t take away ad spending from Google.

The majority of Google’s revenue comes from search and advertising. This would ‘continue to be the main source of profits for foreseeable future’, according Google’s chief executive, Eric E. Schmidt, reports NYTimes.com.

In Q1 2007 alone Google served up almost 226 billion ad links, 85 percent more than the same time last year, and processed around 48 percent of all internet searches, up 6 percent from Q1 2006. Yahoo’s share remains around 28 percent and Microsoft's 11 percent.