Google earned $3 million per hour during the first three months of this year, despite the decline in advertising prices on desktop computers and mobile platforms. Google profit grew in the first quarter of this year by 16% to $3.35 billion, with increasing revenues, while the price of advertising sold on websites and mobile applications continued to decline, albeit more slowly than in previous quarters.
A greater part of the activity on Google’s online search engine comes from smartphones and tablets, a segment where advertising is generally cheaper than that the advertising that targets PC users.
Revenue for the first quarter, without taking into consideration the Motorola Mobility division, bought in the middle of last year, jumped 22% to $12.95 billion, an advance similar to the one in the fourth quarter of previous year. Including Motorola, the revenue grew by 31% to $13.97 billion.
The average price paid by customers for advertising through clicks of internet users fell by 4% compared to a decline of 6% in the fourth quarter. The cost per click drop, recorded concurrently with an advance of 20% of the number of clicks, was the lowest since the fourth quarter of 2011 when the company began to record a negative trend.
“Investor sentiment is more positive on Google than it’s been in at least two years because people are less concerned about mobile [ad prices] being a challenge to Google’s economics,” said Mark Mahaney, an analyst at RBC Capital Markets.
Motorola Mobility division still recorded an operating loss of $271 million in the first quarter, compared to $353 million in the last three months of last year and $527 million in the third quarter. Google tries to bring Motorola on profit, including by layoffs.
Google had at the end of the first quarter cash of $50.1 billion, up from $48 billion last year. Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) stock, on a positive trend in the past 5 days, closed today at $807.90.
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