News
IBM, Intel, Google Report Earnings
IBM, Intel exceed expectations; Google's results disappoint.
Google, Intel, and IBM announced their fourth-quarter and full-year earnings results today.
Although Google reported a strong end to its fiscal year, it did not meet analysts' expectations; shares dropped 9 percent during after-hours trading. Google had revenue of $10.58 billion for the quarter ended Dec. 31, a 25 increase over Q4 2010 -- the first time Google has recorded quarterly revenues of more than $10 billion, according to CEO Larry Page. Net income for the quarter came in at $2.71 billion, up from $2.54 billion from Q4 2010.
Overall revenue for fiscal year 2011 was $37.9 billion, up 29 percent from fiscal year 2010.
Google's Q4 "miss" could be due partially to a decline in the average cost per click. Paid clicks rose between Q3 and Q4 2011 by 17 percent, but cost per click declined by 8 percent over that time. Google's international revenue for Q4 was not as strong as in previous quarters because of unfavorable exchange rates.
Intel's results exceeded analysts' expectations with its Q4 earnings, despite a dramatic 57 percent drop in revenue from its Atom microprocessor group. For the quarter ended December 31, the chip maker reported revenue of $13.9 billion, a 21 percent increase over the year-ago quarter. Net income rose by 6 percent from Q4 2010 to $3.4 billion.
For fiscal year 2011, Intel reported a record $54 billion in revenue, an increase of 24 percent from the previous fiscal year.
Though analysts have been lowering their PC sales projections, Intel's PC Client Group grew its Q4 revenue by 17 percent in the last year. Revenue for its Data Center Group was also up for the quarter by 8 percent year over year.
In a prepared statement, Intel CEO Paul Otellini called 2011 an "exceptional year" for the company. "With a tremendous product and technology pipeline for 2012, we're excited about the global growth opportunities presented by Ultrabook systems, the data center, security and the introduction of Intel-powered smartphones and tablets," he said.
Intel's shares rose 0.86 percent in after-hours trading.
Also beating analyst expectations was IBM, despite an 8 percent year-over-year revenue decline from its Systems and Technology group for the quarter ended December 31. Overall, the company reported Q4 revenue of $29.5 billion, up 2 percent from the year-earlier quarter. Net income for the quarter was $5.5 billion, up 4 percent from Q4 2010.
For fiscal year 2011, IBM reported overall revenue of $106.9 billion, an increase of 7 percent from fiscal 2010's revenue.
Standout product groups for IBM included the WebSphere product line, which increased its quarterly revenue by 21 percent from the previous year, and the Tivoli product line, which grew its quarterly revenue by 14 percent year over year. Additionally, the company said full-year revenue from its cloud products "more than tripled" 2010's revenue.
IBM shares rose 2.7 percent in after-hours trading.