Google Q1 2014: $15.4B But Misses, Paid Clicks Up, CPCs Down

Google announced quarterly revenues this afternoon. The company said it had “consolidated revenues” of $15.42 billion (including Motorola), up 19 percent vs. last year.

However, neither the topline nor earnings per share beat financial analysts’ expectations. Accordingly, the stock is down nearly 6 percent in after-hours trading.

Below are some of the highlights from the earnings release and presentation:

• Total revenues: $15.42 billion (vs. $12.95 billion in Q1 2013)
• Google sites: $10.47 billion (up 21 percent)
• Network: $3.40 billion (up 4 percent)
• Non-US revenue: $8.76 billion (57 percent of total); UK revenue: $1.58 billion (10 percent of total)
• Paid clicks up 26 percent vs. Q1 2013 (but down 1 percent vs. Q4 2013)
• CPCs down 9 percent vs. Q1 2013 (unchanged from Q4)
• TAC was $3.23 billion (23 percent of ad revenues)
• Google stated a loss ($198 million) associated with Motorola Mobility, which it is selling to Lenovo.

Highlights from the earnings call:

• Google CFO Patrick Pichette opened the call with an overview of Q1 2014 earnings, confirming strong revenue performance in the US.
• Non-US revenue (excluding the UK) was up 27 percent to 7.2 billion, representing 47 percent of Google’s total revenue.
• Pinchette said “discreet” legal expenses added to last quarter’s operating costs.
• Google personnel headcount was up 2,001 people in Q1 2014, totaling 50,000 full-time employees.
• Chief Business Officer Nikesh Arora ended the call by outlining the four major areas driving Google, specifically naming direct response, helping clients build their brand, Google’s AdTech platform and emerging new businesses.