Google‘s latest quarterly results provided further proof that the Internet search leader is figuring out how to make more money as web surfers migrate from personal computers to mobile devices.
The first-quarter numbers released Thursday show that a recent decline in Google’s average ad prices is easing. That’s an indication that marketers are starting to pay more for the ads that Google distributes to smartphones and tablet computers.
Mobile ads so far have fetched less money than those viewed on the larger screens of laptop and desktop computers. Google’s average price, or the cost per click to advertisers, has fallen from the previous year in six consecutive quarters, including the opening three months of the year.
But the latest decrease in average ad prices was just 4%. By comparison, Google’s average ad price fell by 6% during the final three months of last year and by 12% during last year’s first quarter.
Google is a good way to monitor the health of digital commerce because it runs the internet’s largest advertising network and is now a major player in the mobile computing market. It’s also one of the world’s most powerful companies, so what happens to it can affect millions of people and businesses.
Google executives have insisted that advertisers eventually will pay more to sell things on mobile devices as people use more and more of them. To help speed the transition, Google is changing the way it sells ads to prod more marketers into buying spots on mobile devices at the same time they plan campaigns aimed at PCs. That switch is scheduled to take effect this summer.
Google earned $3.3 billion, or $9.94 per share, during the opening three months of the year. That was a 16% increase from $2.9 billion, or $8.75 per share, last year.
If not for certain expenses, Google said it would have earned $11.58 per share. That figure exceeded the average earnings estimate of $10.65 per share among analysts surveyed by FactSet.
Revenue climbed 31% from last year to $14 billion.
After subtracting advertising commissions, Google’s revenue totalled $11 billion – about $335 million below analyst estimates.
