Transcripts

Google Makes Gains Despite the Slow Economy

SUZANNE PRATT: Shares of Google surged 18 percent in after-hours trading after the company announces earnings that click with Wall Street. Its 30 percent jump in first-quarter profit shows online advertising continues to grow despite a slow U.S. economy. After the close of trading, Google posted earnings of $4.84 a share, well above analyst forecasts. The online search giant's revenues hit $3.7 billion, also topping estimates by a wide margin.

Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster says Google's results proves the company continues to dominate the online search business.

GENE MUNSTER, SR. RESEARCH ANALYST, PIPER JAFFRAY: The reality is this, is Google is the oxygen of the Internet. They continue to gain share on the Internet, and we are seeing that in the results. We see it in the revenue per search continues to go up. Advertisers are willing to increase their bids for those search results, and so Google as a platform is becoming essentially the building blocks of the Internet, and the results tonight reflect that.

PRATT: Munster says Google's results also show that consumers continue to shell out money for online products and services, despite the economic slowdown.