October 18, 2008 – (HOSTSEARCH.COM) – “We had a good third quarter with strong traffic and revenue growth across all of our major geographies thanks to the underlying strength of our core search and ads business. The measurability and ROI of search-based advertising remain key assets for Google,” said Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google. “While we are realistic about the poor state of the global economy, we will continue to manage Google for the long term, driving improvements to search and ads, while also investing in future growth areas such as enterprise, mobile, and display.”
Google reported revenues of $5.54 billion for the quarter ended September 30, 2008, an increase of 31% compared to the third quarter of 2007 and an increase of 3% compared to the second quarter of 2008. The figures beat estimates for the period.
According to Google advertisers are reducing TV and print media expenditure and spending more on search engine advertising. According to some figures, Internet advertising will represent for 8.7% the $284 billion spent on advertising in the US this year.
Google’s report on the period offers the following as highlights:
Revenues – Google reported revenues of $5.54 billion for the quarter ended September 30, 2008, representing a 31% increase over third quarter 2007 revenues of $4.23 billion and a 3% increase over second quarter 2008 revenues of $5.37 billion. Google reports its revenues, consistent with GAAP, on a gross basis without deducting TAC.
Google Sites Revenues - Google-owned sites generated revenues of $3.67 billion, or 67% of total revenues, in the third quarter of 2008. This represents a 34% increase over third quarter 2007 revenues of $2.73 billion and a 4% increase over second quarter 2008 revenues of $3.53 billion.
Google Network Revenues - Google’s partner sites generated revenues, through AdSense programs, of $1.68 billion, or 30% of total revenues, in the third quarter of 2008. This represents a 15% increase over network revenues of $1.45 billion generated in the third quarter of 2007 and a 1% increase over second quarter 2008 revenues of $1.66 billion.
International Revenues - Revenues from outside of the United States totaled $2.85 billion, representing 51% of total revenues in the third quarter of 2008, compared to 48% in the third quarter of 2007 and 52% in the second quarter of 2008. Had foreign exchange rates remained constant from the second quarter of 2008 through the third quarter of 2008, our revenues in the third quarter of 2008 would have been $59 million higher. Had foreign exchange rates remained constant from the third quarter of 2007 through the third quarter of 2008, our revenues in the third quarter of 2008 would have been $168 million lower.
In the third quarter, we recognized a benefit of $34 million to revenue through our foreign exchange risk management program.
Revenues from the United Kingdom totaled $776 million, representing 14% of revenue in the third quarter of 2008, compared to 16% in the third quarter of 2007 and 14% in the second quarter of 2008.
Paid Clicks – Aggregate paid clicks, which include clicks related to ads served on Google sites and the sites of our AdSense partners, increased approximately 18% over the third quarter of 2007 and increased approximately 4% over the second quarter of 2008.
TAC - Traffic Acquisition Costs, the portion of revenues shared with Google’s partners, increased to $1.50 billion in the third quarter of 2008. This compares to TAC of $1.47 billion in the second quarter of 2008. TAC as a percentage of advertising revenues was 28% in the third quarter, compared to 28% in the second quarter of 2008.
The majority of TAC expense is related to amounts ultimately paid to our AdSense partners, which totaled $1.33 billion in the third quarter of 2008. TAC is also related to amounts ultimately paid to certain distribution partners and others who direct traffic to our website, which totaled $167 million in the third quarter of 2008.
Other Cost of Revenues - Other cost of revenues, which is comprised primarily of data center operational expenses, amortization of intangible assets, content acquisition costs as well as credit card processing charges, increased to $678 million, or 12% of revenues, in the third quarter of 2008, compared to $674 million, or 13% of revenues, in the second quarter of 2008.
Operating Expenses - Operating expenses, other than cost of revenues, were $1.63 billion in the third quarter of 2008, or 29% of revenues, compared to $1.64 billion in the second quarter of 2008, or 31% of revenues. The operating expenses in the third quarter of 2008 included $859 million in payroll-related and facilities expenses, compared to $810 million in the second quarter of 2008.
Stock-Based Compensation (SBC) – In the third quarter of 2008, the total charge related to SBC was $280 million as compared to $273 million in the second quarter of 2008.
