Advertising on smartphones and tablets is not yet giving the desired results, but it still helps Google accounts. In the second quarter, the Mountain View giant beat market estimates in terms of turnover, without however being able to do the same in terms of profits.
Revenues came in at $15,96 billion, 22% more than in the second quarter of 2013, when it reached $13,1 billion. Analysts had forecast a more contained growth, at 15,61 billion. The results do not include the Motorola Mobility division, which was sold to China's Lenovo for $2,91 billion.
In terms of earnings, they reached $3,42 billion, up from $3,23 billion in the same period in 2013. In terms of earnings per share, the figure jumped to $4,99 from $4,77. Net of extraordinary items, the result was 6,08 dollars, below the consensus of 6,23 dollars per share.
Google still has difficulty increasing the cost of clicks on the mobile platform, which has dropped by 6%, but in line with plans for the next two years (the company expects a decline in this sector due to the ongoing migration). In 2013, the Californian group controlled 32% of the global online advertising market, followed by Facebook.
However, the mobile sector – as reported by eMarketer data – represents only 16% of the money spent last year on ads, up 9% from 2012. At the same time Google spent the first six months of 2014 making dozens of acquisitions: from Nest Labs bought for 3,2 billion dollars to Titan Aerospace, a company that produces drones, up to Skybox Imaging, a satellite service acquired for half a billion dollars.
