Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) released its December quarter earnings after closing bell, posting a 22% increase in standalone revenue. Consolidated revenues rose 17% year over year to $16.86 billion. GAAP earnings per share for the quarter were $9.90, while non-GAAP earnings per share were $12.01.
Analysts had been expecting the company to report earnings of $12.28 per share on revenue of $16.8 billion for the December quarter. Although Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG)’s results fell a bit short, the stock was roughly flat in after-hours trading.
Breaking down Google’s results
Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) reported revenues of $10.55 billion for Google Sites and $3.52 billion in revenues for Google Network. Other revenues were reported to be $1.65 billion. International Google segment revenues were $8.77 billion.
The search giant reported 31% growth in aggregate paid clicks year over year and an 11% decline in average cost per click year over year. Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) reported that traffic acquisition coses rose to $3.31 billion during the quarter.
Today Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) also said its board of directors approved a distribution of Class C capital shares as a dividend to shareholders with a dividend record date of March 27 and a payment date of April 2.
Also during the fourth quarter, the search giant paid $902 million in stock-based compensation, compared to $708 million in the same quarter a year ago.
Google sells Motorola to Lenovo
The company’s Motorola Mobile segment recorded revenues of $1.24 billion.
On Wednesday we heard reports that Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) would sell its Motorola handset division to Lenovo Group Ltd. (OTCPINK:LNVGY) (HKG:0992) in a deal worth nearly $3 billion. Although Google doesn’t specifically say this in its earnings release, the company did confirm on its site earlier that it has indeed sold Motorola for $2.9 billion to Lenovo. The Chinese handset maker will pay $660 million in cash and $750 million in its own shares for Motorola, giving it a significant presence in the U.S. market.
