The world’s biggest and most successful search engine has once again surpassed earnings expectations. Google’s CEO, Larry Page made the announcement recently and many were stunned to hear that Google made quarter 3 (Q3) revenues of $9.72 billion. The revenue figure represents a 33% increase on the amount earned in the corresponding period last year.
Many experts had trimmed their expectations of Google’s revenues for much of this year and so the announcement of almost $10 million revenue quarter has really left many analysts scratching their heads. But the earning figure should hardly come as a surprise. Google-owned sites have always been the jewel in the crown and in Q3 they generated over $6.74 billion in revenues, with the next biggest earner being the Google Adsense partner program earning just over $2.60 billion. A small surprise was the revenues earned from outside the US which totaled $5.3 billion or just over 55% of total revenues.
Google also seems to be in good shape where solvency is concerned, having recorded just over $42.6 billion in cash or cash equivalent assets at 30 September 2011. And of course, these big positive numbers provided the perfect platform for a Google+ update. According to Larry Page, Google+ now has over 40 million users and counting—news which I am sure investors will be pleased to hear.
Is Google becoming unstoppable as a force on the web? Share your answer with us in the comments below.