Eric Schmidt, Chairman and CEO of Google Martin Bureau/AFP/Getty Images
Google made no apologies on July 19 for missing analysts’ earnings expectations in the second quarter. Simply put, Google executives said they overspent on luring quality people in the period—though they will keep closer tabs on staff spending in the future. “The kind of people that we brought in are so good that we are happy we did this,” Google Chief Executive Eric Schmidt said on a conference call discussing the results.
In all, the number of full-time Google (GOOG) employees jumped by 1,548, to 13,786 at the end of June. That’s partly why operating expenses, other than the cost of revenue, jumped 85%, to $1.21 billion in the period. That outpaced a 63% rise in net sales and helps explain why profit rose only 28%, to $925.1 million. On a per-share basis, earnings excluding certain expenses were $3.56, falling short of some analysts’ forecasts.
