Late on Thursday Google held its Q2 2013 earnings call. Despite putting a positive spin on things and informing us that Android activations were approaching 1 billion devices, shares were down in aftermarket trading by around five per cent. Revenues had risen during the quarter but the figures were below expectations with mobile ad pricing drop concerns being carefully eyed by investors.
Mobile ad performance
Forbes magazine reports Google's biggest problem is with falling mobile search ad prices. It notes that mobile search ads are already 40 per cent lower in price than those served to desktop computers. During the most recent quarter overall ad prices have fallen six per cent, (investors expected a three per cent drop) these prices already dropped four per cent during Q1. It seems ironic that Android mobiles and tablets are "killing" the desktop PC market but that Google can't make nearly as much money from adverts shown on these platforms.
Larry Page attempted to be positive about mobile being a big opportunity in the longer term; "The shift from one screen to multiple screens and mobility creates tremendous opportunity for Google. With more devices, more information, and more activity online than ever, the potential to improve people’s lives even more is immense," he opined.
Android activations
With Android activations around 1.5 million a day it won't be long until there are one billion Android devices worldwide. "That’s pretty amazing given the first Android phone launched less than five years ago," said Page. Downloads of apps/games have passed the 50 billion mark and other content such as music, eBooks and movies are increasingly popular with consumers.
Other highlights
Other juicy information morsels concerning Google's activities, from the most recent financials, include the rise of non-advertising revenues. This income, from things like Google Play content, Google Apps business contracts etc, rose 138 per cent to contribute eight per cent to Google's total revenue.
Google and Motorola now have a combined total of 44,777 full-time employees. In the previous quarter the pairing had 53,891 full-time employees. The number has been greatly reduced on the Motorola side of the business, while the number of employees at Google has actually increased slightly.
