Google posts big miss with Q2 EPS of $9.56

Google on Thursday reported earnings of $9.56 per share on revenues of $14.11 billion, thus missing Wall Street’s second-quarter EPS consensus of $10.78 on $14.4 billion in sales. One reason for Google’s disappointing earnings was its operating expenses, which increased to 35% of its revenues on the quarter from 33% of its revenues in Q2 2012. Google’s cost-per-click on its ads also shrank by around 6% year-over-year, thus putting downward pressure on its total revenues. Although Google’s overall earnings and revenues missed the Street’s consensus, there was an unexpected bright spot on the revenue side for the company from its Motorola Mobility division, which posted revenues of $998 million on the quarter, up from $843 million in revenues it posted in Q2 2012. Motorola continued to have trouble turning a profit, however, as it still posted a net loss of $342 million. In response to the worse-than-expected earnings, Google’s shares sank by nearly 5% in after-hours trading.