Google Revenue Grows by 35 Percent

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Despite challenging economic conditions worldwide, Google continues to grow in 2012.

For the second quarter of 2012, Google reported revenue of $12.21 billion, up by 35 percent on a year-over-year basis. Net Income was reported at $2.79 billion, up from $2.51 billion in the first quarter of 2011. Earnings Per Share came in at $8.42 up from $7.68 a year ago.

Google’s financial statements for the second quarter were bolstered by the inclusion of Motorola Mobility. Google acquired Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion in a deal that officially closed in May. Without the Motorola Mobility component, Google’s stand alone revenue grew by 21 percent to $11 billion.

At the heart of Google’s standalone results are revenues from Google websites. For the second quarter, Google website revenue came in at $7.5 billion for a 21 percent year-over-year gain.

“So the core metrics of Google standalone business continue to perform very well against the backdrop of a somewhat difficult global economic environment,” Patrick Pichette, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, said during the company’s earnings call.

Making a Living on YouTube

During the earnings call, Google also revealed some startling statistics about its YouTube video site. According to Nikesh Arora, Senior Vice President and Chief Business Officer at Google, YouTube users are uploading over 72 hours of video every minute to the video site. He noted that a new YouTube app for Android debuted during the quarter, which should further accelerate usage.

While YouTube is often thought of by end users as just a video sharing site for consuming videos, there are a lot of YouTube partners making a lot of money from YouTube videos now too.

“Thousands of partners are making six figures and we’re proud to work with major record labels in Hollywood studios on this platform,” Arora said.

The Future of Search

Search remains a core focus for Google and it’s an area the company is aiming to improve.

“Larry Page has described the perfect search engine as something that understands exactly what you mean and gives you back exactly what you want,” Susan Wojcicki, Senior Vice President, Advertising at Google said during the call. “We’ve made a start for a more intelligent search, thanks to the Knowledge Graph, which understands real world things, their defining characteristics and their connections to one another.”

Sean Michael Kerner is a senior editor at InternetNews.com, the news service of the IT Business Edge Network, the network for technology professionals Follow him on Twitter @TechJournalist.