<p>"Google had a strong quarter-we saw 7 percent year-over-year revenue growth despite the tough economic conditions," said Eric Schmidt, Google's chief executive, on a conference call with investors on Thursday. "While there is a lot of uncertainty about the pace of economic recovery, we believe the worst of the recession is behind us and now feel confident about investing heavily in our future."<br /><br />Google's strong third quarter could be a good sign for the economy, as the company's ad clicks serve as a kind of barometer of consumers' willingness to spend, CNNMoney.com said. The more people click on ads, the more willing they are to buy things.<br /><br />"It's all good news from our perspective," said Schmidt. "I'm very proud of our management team in what could have been a very significant downturn for Google."<br />By the numbers: The Mountain View, California-based search giant's net income was $1.64 billion, or $5.13 per share, in the third quarter, up 27 percent from the same period last year.<br /><br />Excluding one-time charges, including $95 million from a Google Books settlement with the Authors Guild, Google reported earnings of $1.88 billion, or $5.89 per share.<br /><br />Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters, who typically exclude one-time charges from their forecasts, expected earnings of $5.42 per share. Sales rose 7 percent to $5.94 billion. Excluding advertising sales that Google shares with partners, a figure also known as traffic acquisition costs, the company reported revenue of $4.38 billion, which beat analysts' forecast of $4.24 billion.<br /><br />Google makes the vast majority of its sales from online advertising, a market that has struggled over the past year. But two important indicators of advertising market health improved: The number of paid clicks, which include clicks on ads served on Google sites and its partners, rose 4 percent from the previous quarter and 14 percent from the same period last year.<br /><br />The average amount paid to Google per click also increased about 5 percent from last quarter. That figure was down about 6 percent from the same period a year ago, but the company said that much of that discrepancy had to do with currency fluctuations.<br /></p>
<p>"Google had a strong quarter-we saw 7 percent year-over-year revenue growth despite the tough economic conditions," said Eric Schmidt, Google's chief executive, on a conference call with investors on Thursday. "While there is a lot of uncertainty about the pace of economic recovery, we believe the worst of the recession is behind us and now feel confident about investing heavily in our future."<br /><br />Google's strong third quarter could be a good sign for the economy, as the company's ad clicks serve as a kind of barometer of consumers' willingness to spend, CNNMoney.com said. The more people click on ads, the more willing they are to buy things.<br /><br />"It's all good news from our perspective," said Schmidt. "I'm very proud of our management team in what could have been a very significant downturn for Google."<br />By the numbers: The Mountain View, California-based search giant's net income was $1.64 billion, or $5.13 per share, in the third quarter, up 27 percent from the same period last year.<br /><br />Excluding one-time charges, including $95 million from a Google Books settlement with the Authors Guild, Google reported earnings of $1.88 billion, or $5.89 per share.<br /><br />Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters, who typically exclude one-time charges from their forecasts, expected earnings of $5.42 per share. Sales rose 7 percent to $5.94 billion. Excluding advertising sales that Google shares with partners, a figure also known as traffic acquisition costs, the company reported revenue of $4.38 billion, which beat analysts' forecast of $4.24 billion.<br /><br />Google makes the vast majority of its sales from online advertising, a market that has struggled over the past year. But two important indicators of advertising market health improved: The number of paid clicks, which include clicks on ads served on Google sites and its partners, rose 4 percent from the previous quarter and 14 percent from the same period last year.<br /><br />The average amount paid to Google per click also increased about 5 percent from last quarter. That figure was down about 6 percent from the same period a year ago, but the company said that much of that discrepancy had to do with currency fluctuations.<br /></p>
