Google Q4 revenues hit US$10.5bn – Google+ has 90m users globally

20 Jan 2012

Google CEO Larry Page

Internet search and advertising player Google reported Q4 revenues of US$10.5bn, up 25pc on the previous year. Its Android and Gmail divisions are going from strength to strength and its new social network has more than 90m users after just half a year in existence.

The company posted a net profit of US$2.7bn, up from US$2.5bn last year. Earnings per share in Google was US$8.22, up from US$7.1 last year.

Google-owned sites generated revenues of US$7.29bn and partner sites generated revenues of US$2.8bn. Revenues from outside the US totalled US$5.6bn.

“Google had a really strong quarter ending a great year. Full-year revenue was up 29pc, and our quarterly revenue blew past the $10bn mark for the first time,” said Larry Page, CEO of Google.

The real surprise of the quarter is the sheer growth scale of Google+, which in less than half a year in existence has achieved a user base that is more than 10pc of Facebook’s more than 800m user base.

“I am super excited about the growth of Android, Gmail, and Google+, which now has 90m users globally – well over double what I announced just three months ago.

“By building a meaningful relationship with our users through Google+, we will create amazing experiences across our services. I’m very excited about what we can do in 2012 – there are tremendous opportunities to help users and grow our business,” Page said.

John Kennedy is a journalist who served as editor of Silicon Republic for 17 years

editorial@siliconrepublic.com