Google Shares Plunge After Earnings Fall Shy of Expectations

Mountain View, Calif. -- Shares of Mountain View-based Google fell more than 9% -- roughly $50 -- on Friday after the Internet giant posted second quarter earnings that fell well short of Wall Street expectations. The company reported net income of $1.25 billion, or $3.92 a share, up about 35% from a year ago, but -- excluding one-time costs -- still about $0.11 shy of consensus analyst estimates, according to a survey by Thomson Financial. Still, the company remained upbeat. "Strong international growth as well as sustained traffic increases on Google's web properties propelled us to another strong quarter, despite a more challenging economic environment," said Eric Schmidt, Google's CEO.
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