Google earnings up 25%
JEREMY HOBSON: To silicon valley now. Google says its earnings were up more than 25 percent in the first three months of this year. But investors seem more interested in the spending spree Google is on right now. Under the direction of its new CEO Larry Page, Google is investing more in new technologies, businesses and hirings.
And as Marketplace’s Alisa Roth reports, all that spending is making some people nervous about the bottom line.
ALISA ROTH: One of the places Google is spending all that money is on people. The company is planning to hire more than 6,000 people this year. And at the beginning of the year, people who were already working there got 10 percent raises.
Google’s searching for new sources of revenue beyond its basic search business. And it’s trying to compete with Facebook and other social networking sites.
Henry Blodget is editor at Business Insider. He says there’s tension between Google and investors because Wall Street is so impatient.
HENRY BLODGET: What Google is doing with investing is basically saying we’re investing for the long haul. And Wall Street appreciates that theoretically, but they want the money right now.
He says Google is doing what it should be — trying to expand. And it may be growing up as a company. Its earnings are healthy, they’re just not as stratospheric as they were for awhile.
This is also the first earnings report since Google’s co-founder Larry Page took over as CEO. And investors are nervous he may be more of an engineer than a businessman.
In New York I’m Alisa Roth for Marketplace.
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