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Financial Release

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Google Announces Third Quarter 2007 Results

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. - October 18, 2007 - Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) today announced financial results for the quarter ended September 30, 2007.

"We are very pleased with the impressive growth we experienced across our business," said Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google. "Our core search advertising business experienced continued momentum driven by growth in monetization and traffic, and we are creating a wider and deeper ads system through our focus on innovation, bringing more ad formats to our advertisers. Our efforts to offer more products and services in international markets as well as effectively grow our technology infrastructure and add to our deep talent base during the quarter helped to deliver growth by enabling Google to reach more users around the world."

Q3 Financial Summary

Google reported revenues of $4.23 billion for the quarter ended September 30, 2007, an increase of 57% compared to the third quarter of 2006 and an increase of 9% compared to the second quarter of 2007. Google reports its revenues, consistent with GAAP, on a gross basis without deducting traffic acquisition costs, or TAC. In the third quarter of 2007, TAC totaled $1.22 billion, or 29% of advertising revenues.

Google reports operating income, net income, and earnings per share (EPS) on a GAAP and non-GAAP basis. The non-GAAP measures, as well as free cash flow, an alternative non-GAAP measure of liquidity, are described below and are reconciled to the corresponding GAAP measures in the accompanying financial tables.

  • GAAP operating income for the third quarter of 2007 was $1.32 billion, or 31% of revenues. This compares to GAAP operating income of $1.10 billion, or 29% of revenues, in the second quarter of 2007. Non-GAAP operating income in the third quarter of 2007 was $1.52 billion, or 36% of revenues. This compares to non-GAAP operating income of $1.35 billion, or 35% of revenues, in the second quarter of 2007.
  • GAAP net income for the third quarter of 2007 was $1.07 billion as compared to $925 million in the second quarter of 2007. Non-GAAP net income in the third quarter of 2007 was $1.24 billion, compared to $1.12 billion in the second quarter of 2007.
  • GAAP EPS for the third quarter of 2007 was $3.38 on 317 million diluted shares outstanding, compared to $2.93 for the second quarter of 2007 on 315 million diluted shares outstanding. Non-GAAP EPS in the third quarter of 2007 was $3.91, compared to $3.56 in the second quarter of 2007.
  • Non-GAAP operating income, non-GAAP operating margin, non-GAAP net income, and non-GAAP EPS are computed net of stock-based compensation (SBC). In the third quarter of 2007, the charge related to SBC was $198 million as compared to $242 million in the second quarter of 2007. Tax benefits related to SBC have also been excluded from these non-GAAP measures. The tax benefit related to SBC was $31 million in the third quarter of 2007 and $43 million in the second quarter of 2007. Reconciliations of non-GAAP measures to GAAP operating income, operating margin, net income, and EPS are included at the end of this release.

Q3 Financial Highlights

Revenues - Google reported revenues of $4.23 billion for the quarter ended September 30, 2007, representing a 57% increase over third quarter 2006 revenues of $2.69 billion and a 9% increase over second quarter 2007 revenues of $3.87 billion. Google reports its revenues, consistent with GAAP, on a gross basis without deducting TAC.

Google Sites Revenues - Google-owned sites generated revenues of $2.73 billion, or 65% of total revenues, in the third quarter of 2007. This represents a 68% increase over third quarter 2006 revenues of $1.63 billion and a 10% increase over second quarter 2007 revenues of $2.49 billion.

Google Network Revenues - Google's partner sites generated revenues, through AdSense programs, of $1.45 billion, or 34% of total revenues, in the third quarter of 2007. This represents a 40% increase over network revenues of $1.04 billion generated in the third quarter of 2006 and an 8% increase over second quarter 2007 revenues of $1.35 billion.

International Revenues - Revenues from outside of the United States totaled $2.03 billion, representing 48% of total revenues in the third quarter of 2007, compared to 44% in the third quarter of 2006 and 48% in the second quarter of 2007. Had foreign exchange rates remained constant from the second quarter of 2007 through the third quarter of 2007, our revenues in the third quarter of 2007 would have been $24 million lower. Had foreign exchange rates remained constant from the third quarter of 2006 through the third quarter of 2007, our revenues in the third quarter of 2007 would have been $121 million lower.

Revenues from the United Kingdom totaled $661 million, representing 16% of revenue in the third quarter of 2007, compared to 16% in the third quarter of 2006 and 15% in the second quarter of 2007.

Paid Clicks - Aggregate paid clicks, which include clicks related to ads served on Google sites and the sites of our AdSense partners, increased approximately 45% over the third quarter of 2006 and approximately 5% over the second quarter of 2007.

TAC - Traffic Acquisition Costs, the portion of revenues shared with Google's partners, increased to $1.22 billion in the third quarter of 2007. This compares to TAC of $1.15 billion in the second quarter of 2007. TAC as a percentage of advertising revenues was 29% in the third quarter, compared to 30% in the second quarter of 2007.

The majority of TAC expense is related to amounts ultimately paid to our AdSense partners, which totaled $1.12 billion in the third quarter of 2007. TAC is also related to amounts ultimately paid to certain distribution partners and others who direct traffic to our website, which totaled $105 million in the third quarter of 2007.

Other Cost of Revenues - Other cost of revenues, which is comprised primarily of data center operational expenses, credit card processing charges as well as content acquisition costs, increased to $441 million, or 10% of revenues, in the third quarter of 2007, compared to $412 million, or 11% of revenues, in the second quarter of 2007.

Operating Expenses - Operating expenses, other than cost of revenues, were $1.25 billion in the third quarter of 2007, or 30% of revenues, compared to $1.21 billion in the second quarter of 2007, or 31% of revenues. The operating expenses in the third quarter of 2007 included $659 million in payroll-related and facilities expenses, compared to $625 million in the second quarter of 2007.

Stock-Based Compensation (SBC) - In the third quarter of 2007, the total charge related to SBC was $198 million as compared to $242 million in the second quarter of 2007. In the second quarter of 2007, we launched our employee transferable stock option (TSO) program and, in connection with this launch, incurred an SBC modification charge of $62 million.

We currently estimate stock-based compensation charges for grants to employees prior to October 1, 2007 to be approximately $801 million for 2007. This does not include expenses to be recognized related to employee stock awards that are granted after October 1, 2007 or non-employee stock awards that have been or may be granted. We currently anticipate that dilution related to all equity grants to employees will be at or below 2% this year.

Operating Income - GAAP operating income in the third quarter of 2007 was $1.32 billion, or 31% of revenues. This compares to GAAP operating income of $1.10 billion, or 29% of revenues, in the second quarter of 2007. Non-GAAP operating income in the third quarter of 2007 was $1.52 billion, or 36% of revenues. This compares to non-GAAP operating income of $1.35 billion, or 35% of revenues, in the second quarter of 2007.

Net Income - GAAP net income for the third quarter of 2007 was $1.07 billion as compared to $925 million in the second quarter of 2007. Non-GAAP net income was $1.24 billion in the third quarter of 2007, compared to $1.12 billion in the second quarter of 2007. GAAP EPS for the third quarter of 2007 was $3.38 on 317 million diluted shares outstanding, compared to $2.93 for the second quarter of 2007, on 315 million diluted shares outstanding. Non-GAAP EPS for the third quarter of 2007 was $3.91, compared to $3.56 in the second quarter of 2007.

Income Taxes - Our effective tax rate was 27.3% for the third quarter of 2007 compared to 25.5% in the second quarter of 2007.

Cash Flow and Capital Expenditures - Net cash provided by operating activities for the third quarter of 2007 totaled $1.63 billion as compared to $1.23 billion for the second quarter of 2007. In the third quarter of 2007, capital expenditures were $553 million, the majority of which was related to IT infrastructure investments, including data centers, servers, and networking equipment. Free cash flow, an alternative non-GAAP measure of liquidity, is defined as net cash provided by operating activities less capital expenditures. In the third quarter of 2007, free cash flow was $1.08 billion.

We expect to continue to make significant capital expenditures.

A reconciliation of free cash flow to net cash provided by operating activities, the GAAP measure of liquidity, is included at the end of this release.

Cash - As of September 30, 2007, cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities were $13.1 billion.

On a worldwide basis, Google employed 15,916 full-time employees as of September 30, 2007, up from 13,786 full time employees as of June 30, 2007.

WEBCAST AND CONFERENCE CALL INFORMATION

A live audio webcast of Google's third quarter 2007 earnings release call will be available at http://investor.google.com/webcast.html. The call begins today at 1:30 PM (PT) / 4:30 PM (ET). This press release, the financial tables, as well as other supplemental information including the reconciliations of certain non-GAAP measures to their nearest comparable GAAP measures, are also available at that site. A replay of the call will be available beginning at 7:30 PM (ET) today through midnight Thursday, October 25, 2007 by calling 888-203-1112 in the United States or 719-457-0820 for calls from outside the United States. The required confirmation code for the replay is 2070643.

FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS

This press release contains forward-looking statements that are based on information available to us as of the date of this press release and our current expectations, forecasts and assumptions, and involve risks and uncertainties. These statements include statements relating to our expected stock-based compensation charges, the expected dilution related to equity grants to our employees, and our plans to make significant capital expenditures. Actual results may differ materially from the results predicted and reported results should not be considered as an indication of future performance. The potential risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from the results predicted include, among others, unforeseen changes in our hiring patterns, the amount of stock-based compensation we issue to our service providers, our need to expend capital to accommodate the growth of the business, as well as those risks and uncertainties included under the captions "Risk Factors" and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations," in our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2007, which is on file with the SEC and is available on our investor relations website at investor.google.com and on the SEC website at www.sec.gov. Additional information will also be set forth in our report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2007, which will be filed with the SEC in November 2007. All information provided in this release and in the attachments is as of October 18, 2007, and should not be unduly relied on because Google undertakes no duty to update this information.

ABOUT NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES

To supplement our consolidated financial statements, which statements are prepared and presented in accordance with GAAP, we use the following non-GAAP financial measures: non-GAAP operating income, non-GAAP operating margin, non-GAAP net income, non-GAAP EPS and free cash flow. The presentation of this financial information is not intended to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for, or superior to, the financial information prepared and presented in accordance with GAAP. For more information on these non-GAAP financial measures, please see the tables captioned "Reconciliations of non-GAAP results of operations measures to the nearest comparable GAAP measures" and "Reconciliation from net cash provided by operating activities to free cash flow" included at the end of this release.

We use these non-GAAP financial measures for financial and operational decision making and as a means to evaluate period-to-period comparisons. Our management believes that these non-GAAP financial measures provide meaningful supplemental information regarding our performance and liquidity by excluding certain expenses and expenditures that may not be indicative of our "recurring core business operating results," meaning our operating performance excluding not only non-cash charges, such as stock-based compensation, but also discrete cash charges that are infrequent in nature. We believe that both management and investors benefit from referring to these non-GAAP financial measures in assessing our performance and when planning, forecasting and analyzing future periods. These non-GAAP financial measures also facilitate management's internal comparisons to our historical performance and liquidity as well as comparisons to our competitors' operating results. We believe these non-GAAP financial measures are useful to investors both because (1) they allow for greater transparency with respect to key metrics used by management in its financial and operational decision making and (2) they are used by our institutional investors and the analyst community to help them analyze the health of our business.

Non-GAAP operating income and operating margin. We define non-GAAP operating income as operating income plus stock-based compensation. Non-GAAP operating margin is defined as non-GAAP operating income divided by revenues. Google considers these non-GAAP financial measures to be useful metrics for management and investors because they exclude the effect of stock-based compensation so that Google's management and investors can compare Google's recurring core business operating results over multiple periods. Because of varying available valuation methodologies, subjective assumptions and the variety of award types that companies can use under FAS 123R, Google's management believes that providing a non-GAAP financial measure that excludes stock-based compensation allows investors to make meaningful comparisons between Google's recurring core business operating results and those of other companies, as well as providing Google's management with an important tool for financial and operational decision making and for evaluating Google's own recurring core business operating results over different periods of time. There are a number of limitations related to the use of non-GAAP operating income versus operating income calculated in accordance with GAAP. First, non-GAAP operating income excludes some costs, namely, stock-based compensation, that are recurring. Stock-based compensation has been and will continue to be for the foreseeable future a significant recurring expense in Google's business. Second, stock-based compensation is an important part of our employees' compensation and impacts their performance. Third, the components of the costs that we exclude in our calculation of non-GAAP operating income may differ from the components that our peer companies exclude when they report their results of operations. Management compensates for these limitations by providing specific information regarding the GAAP amounts excluded from non-GAAP operating income and evaluating non-GAAP operating income together with operating income calculated in accordance with GAAP.

Non-GAAP net income and EPS. We define non-GAAP net income as net income plus stock-based compensation, less the related tax effects. We define non-GAAP EPS as non-GAAP net income divided by the weighted average shares, on a fully-diluted basis, outstanding as of September 30, 2007. We consider these non-GAAP financial measures to be a useful metric for management and investors for the same reasons that Google uses non-GAAP operating income and non-GAAP operating margin. However, in order to provide a complete picture of our recurring core business operating results, we exclude from non-GAAP net income and non-GAAP EPS the tax effects associated with stock-based compensation. Without excluding these tax effects, investors would only see the gross effect that excluding these expenses had on our operating results. The same limitations described above regarding Google's use of non-GAAP operating income and non-GAAP operating margin apply to our use of non-GAAP net income and non-GAAP EPS. Management compensates for these limitations by providing specific information regarding the GAAP amounts excluded from non-GAAP net income and non-GAAP EPS and evaluating non-GAAP net income and non-GAAP EPS together with net income and EPS calculated in accordance with GAAP.

Free cash flow. We define free cash flow as net cash provided by operating activities minus capital expenditures. We consider free cash flow to be a liquidity measure that provides useful information to management and investors about the amount of cash generated by the business that, after the acquisition of property and equipment, including information technology infrastructure and land and buildings, can be used for strategic opportunities, including investing in our business, making strategic acquisitions and strengthening the balance sheet. Analysis of free cash flow also facilitates management's comparisons of our operating results to competitors' operating results. A limitation of using free cash flow versus the GAAP measure of net cash provided by operating activities as a means for evaluating Google is that free cash flow does not represent the total increase or decrease in the cash balance from operations for the period since it excludes cash used for capital expenditures during the period. Our management compensates for this limitation by providing information about our capital expenditures on the face of the cash flow statement and under Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations in our Form 10-Q. Google has computed free cash flow using the same consistent method from quarter to quarter and year to year.

The accompanying tables have more details on the GAAP financial measures that are most directly comparable to non-GAAP financial measures and the related reconciliations between these financial measures.

     
Investor Contact:
Maria Shim
650-253-7663
marias@google.com
      Media Contact:
Jon Murchinson
650-253-4437
jonm@google.com




Google Inc.
Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets

(in thousands)

         
   
December 31,
2006
*
 
September 30,
2007
        (unaudited)
Assets        
Current assets:        
   Cash and cash equivalents   $          3,544,671   $         5,106,404
   Marketable securities   7,699,243   7,980,941
   Accounts receivable, net of allowance   1,322,340   1,887,860
   Deferred income taxes, net   29,713   87,963
   Prepaid revenue share, expenses and other assets   443,880
  670,593
 
   Total current assets   13,039,847   15,733,761
 
 Prepaid revenue share, expenses and other assets, non-current   114,455   170,069
 Deferred income taxes, net, non-current   -   37,219
 Non-marketable equity securities   1,031,850   1,048,138
 Property and equipment, net   2,395,239   3,588,814
 Intangible assets, net   346,841   485,252
 Goodwill   1,545,119
  2,277,397
Total assets   $      18,473,351
  $       23,340,650
 
Liabilities and Stockholders' Equity 
 Current liabilities:  
   Accounts payable   $          211,169   $         231,883
   Accrued compensation and benefits   351,671   496,073
   Accrued expenses and other current liabilities   266,247   400,889
   Accrued revenue share   370,364   507,693
   Deferred revenue   105,136   146,129
         
   Total current liabilities  
1,304,587
 
1,782,667
         
Deferred revenue, long-term   20,006   23,676
Deferred income taxes, net   40,421   -
Income taxes payable, long-term   -   406,555
Other long-term liabilities   68,497   90,981
 
Stockholders' equity:  
   Common stock   309   312
   Additional paid-in capital   11,882,906   12,831,437
   Accumulated other comprehensive income   23,311   81,544
   Retained earnings   5,133,314
  8,123,478
 
Total stockholders' equity   17,039,840
  21,036,771
 
Total liabilities and stockholders' equity   $      18,473,351
  $      23,340,650

*Derived from audited financial statements.




Google Inc.
Consolidated Statements of Income

(in thousands, except per share amounts)
                 
    Three Months Ended
September 30,


  Nine Months Ended
September 30,


    2006
  2007   2006
  2007
   
(unaudited)
Revenues   $         2,689,673   $    4,231,351   $         7,399,419   $    11,767,307
             
Costs and expenses:            
  Cost of revenues (including stock-based compensation expense of $2,149, $4,031, $6,754, $16,080)   1,048,728  
1,662,579
  2,941,879  
4,693,261
  Research and development (including stock-based compensation expense of $61,714, $130,655, $205,364, $408,425)   312,632  
548,712
  841,783  
1,489,202
  Sales and marketing (including stock-based compensation expense of $14,673, $29,918, $44,887, $93,553)   206,972  
380,820
  594,312  
1,038,976
  General and administrative (including stock-based compensation expense of $21,324, $33,352, $66,668, $105,288)   190,010  
321,398
  532,043  
902,202
Total costs and expenses  
1,758,342

 
2,913,509

 
4,910,017

 
8,123,641

Income from operations   931,331  
1,317,842
  2,489,402  
3,643,666
Interest income and other, net   108,180
 
154,428
  336,904
 
422,287
                 
Income before income taxes   1,039,511  
1,472,270
  2,826,306  
4,065,953
Provision for income taxes   306,150
 
402,281
  779,577
 
1,068,682
Net income   $        733,361
 
$      1,069,989
  $        2,046,729
 
$      2,997,271
                 
Net income per share - basic  
$           2.42
 
$           3.44
 
$            6.83
 
$           9.66
Net income per share - diluted  
$           2.36
 
$           3.38
 
$           6.64
 
$           9.50
                 
Shares used in per share calculation - basic  
303,400
 
311,221
 
299,569
 
310,324
Shares used in per share calculation - diluted  
310,574
 
316,576
 
308,245
 
315,638
                 



Google Inc.
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows

(in thousands)
         
   
Nine Months Ended
September 30,
   
2006
 
2007
   
(unaudited)
Operating activities        
Net income   $        2,046,729  
$    2,997,271
Adjustments:      
    Depreciation of property and equipment   335,629  
565,841
    Amortization of intangibles and warrants   47,060  
111,881
    Stock-based compensation   323,673  
623,346
    Excess tax benefits from stock-based award activity   (329,068)  
(238,577)
    Other   10,800  
(7,215)
    Changes in assets and liabilities, net of effects of acquisitions:        
        Accounts receivable   (343,356)  
(559,425)
        Income taxes, net   528,493  
431,048
        Prepaid revenue share, expenses and other assets   (267,759)  
(237,262)
        Accounts payable   91,198  
20,155
        Accrued expenses and other liabilities   124,640  
206,522
        Accrued revenue share   90,856  
136,446
        Deferred revenue   10,819  
32,131
         
Net cash provided by operating activities  

2,669,714
 

4,082,162
         
Investing activities      
Purchases of property and equipment   (1,536,160)  
(1,724,631)
Purchases of marketable securities   (23,151,347)  
(11,756,147)
Maturities and sales of marketable securities   19,888,930  
11,519,001
Investments in non-marketable equity securities   (1,014,222)  
(21,288)
Acquisitions, net of cash acquired, and purchases of intangible and other assets   (257,812)  
(823,092)
         
Net cash used in investing activities  

(6,070,611)
 

(2,806,157)
         
Financing activities        
Net proceeds from stock-based award activity   155,551  
19,073
Net proceeds from a public stock offering   2,063,751  
-
Excess tax benefits from stock-based award activity   329,068  
238,577
         
Net cash provided by financing activities  

2,548,370
 

257,650
         
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents   13,694  
28,078
       
Net (decrease) increase in cash and cash equivalents   (838,833)  
1,561,733
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of year   3,877,174
 
3,544,671

Cash and cash equivalents at end of period  
$      3,038,341
 
$      5,106,404




Reconciliations of non-GAAP results of operations measures to the nearest comparable GAAP measures

The following table presents certain non-GAAP results before certain material items (in thousands, except per share amounts, unaudited):

                                         
    Three months ended June 30, 2007   Three months ended September 30, 2007
   
GAAP Actual
 
As a % of revenues
 
Adjustments
 
Non-GAAP
Results
 
As a % of revenues
 
GAAP Actual
 
As a % of revenues
 
Adjustments
 
Non-GAAP
Results
 
As a % of revenues
                                         
           
241,524
(a)                
197,956
(b)      
                               
       
Income from operations  
$   1,104,615
 
28.5%
 
$    241,524
 
$    1,346,139
 
34.8%
 
$  1,317,842
 
31.1%
 
$   197,956
 
$    1,515,798
 
35.8%
                                         
           
241,524
(a)                
197,956
(b)      
           
(42,997)
(c)                
(31,011)
(c)      
                                       
Net income  
$    925,120
     
$  198,527
 
$   1,123,647
     
$  1,069,989
     
$   166,945
 
$   1,236,934
   
                                         
Net income per share - diluted  
$   2.93
     
 
$   3.56
     
$   3.38
     
 
$   3.91
   
Shares used in per share calculation - diluted  
315,469
     
 
315,469
     
316,576
     
 
316,576
   


(a) To eliminate $241.5 million of stock-based compensation charges recorded in the second quarter of 2007.
(b) To eliminate $198.0 million of stock-based compensation charges recorded in the third quarter of 2007.
(c) To eliminate income tax effects related to charges noted in (a) and (b).




Reconciliation from net cash provided by operating activities to free cash flow (in thousands, unaudited):
     
   
Three months ended
September 30, 2007
Net cash provided by operating activities  
$   1,632,643
  Less purchases of property and equipment  
(552,640)

Free cash flow  
$  1,080,003

 


The following table presents our revenues, by revenue source, for the periods presented (in thousands, unaudited):
                 
    Three Months Ended
September 30,


  Nine Months Ended
September 30,


    2006
  2007   2006
  2007
                 
Advertising revenues:                
  Google web sites  
$1,625,977
 
$2,734,756
 
$4,355,754
 
$7,503,167
  Google Network web sites  
1,037,022
 
1,454,721
 
2,961,965
 
4,152,102
                 
Total advertising revenues  
2,662,999
 
4,189,477
 
7,317,719
 
11,655,269
Licensing and other revenues  
26,674
 
41,874
 
81,700
 
112,038
Revenues  
$     2,689,673
 
$     4,231,351
 
$    7,399,419
 
$    11,767,307



The following table presents our revenues, by revenue source, as a percentage of total revenues for the periods presented (unaudited):
                 
    Three Months Ended
September 30,


  Nine Months Ended
September 30,


    2006
  2007   2006
  2007
                 
Advertising revenues:                
  Google web sites  
60%
 
65%
 
59%
 
64%
  Google Network web sites  
39%
 
34%
 
40%
 
35%
                 
Total advertising revenues  
99%
 
99%
 
99%
 
99%
Licensing and other revenues  
1%
 
1%
 
1%
 
1%
Revenues  
100%
 
100%
 
100%
 
100%