October 14, 2010, 5:33 PM — They sure made that look easy.
Online search leader Google Inc. reported its much-anticipated third-quarter earnings after Thursday's market close, and the company didn't disappoint.
Q3 net income climbed 32 percent to $2.17 billion, or $6.72 per share, from $1.64 billion, or $5.13 per share, in the year-ago quarter. Excluding one-time charges, the company's Q3 net income was $7.64 per share.
Gross revenue was $7.29 billion, up 23 percent from last year's $5.94 billion, while net revenue -- which excludes fees paid to Google's online partners -- was $5.48 billion, up from last year's $4.38 billion. Consensus estimates called for Google to log Q3 net income of $6.69 per share on net revenue of $5.3 billion.
Google shares soared more than 9 percent to 590.36 in after-hours trading, with investors forgetting their alleged concerns about Google's forays into non-core businesses such as building driverless cars and huge wind farms, along with increasing expenses by recently hiring 1,500 workers.
Advertising revenue in the third quarter was $7 billion.
In a statement accompanying the earnings release, CEO Eric Schmidt said, "Google had an excellent quarter. Our core business grew very well, and our newer businesses -- particularly display and mobile -- continued to show significant momentum. Going forward, we remain committed to aggressive investment in both our people and our products as we pursue an innovation agenda."
I'll dig into some of the other metrics (paid clicks, etc.) on Friday. Be still your beating hearts.
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