On Jan. 31, Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) released Q4 and full fiscal 2005 earnings for the period ending Dec. 31, 2005.

  • Google reported revenues of $1.92 billion for the fourth quarter, an 86% increase over the same quarter last year.
  • Investors ran for the hills today, sending the stock lower by more than 8% as of this writing. The concern? Google's $1.54 in per-share earnings (after excluding stock-based compensation expense) fell well short of the Street's expectations of $1.76 per stub. But, of course, this is silly: Google doesn't give guidance.

(Figures in thousands, except per-share data)

Income Statement Highlights

Avg. Est.

Q4 2005

Q4 2004

% Change

Sales

$1,290,000

$1,919,093

$1,031,501

+86%

Net Profit

--

$372,208

$204,100

+82.4%

EPS

$1.76

$1.22

$0.71

+71.8%



Get back to basics with a look at the income statement.

Margin Checkup

Q4 2005

Q4 2004

Change

Gross Margin

59.60%

56.01%

+3.59%

Op. Margin

29.68%

29.36%

+0.33%

Net Margin

19.39%

19.79%

-0.39%



Margins are the earnings engine. See how they work.

Balance Sheet Highlights

Assets

FY 2005

FY 2004

% Change

Cash+ ST Invest.

$8,034,227

$2,132,297

+276.8%

Inventory

$-

$-

N/A

Accounts Rec.

$687,976

$311,836

+120.6%



Liabilities

Long-Term Debt

$-

$-

N/A

Accounts Pay.

$115,575

$32,672

+253.7%



Cash Flow Highlights

FY 2005

FY 2004

% Change

Cash From Ops

$2,459,422

$977,044

+151.7%

Capital Expend.

$838,217

$318,995

+162.8%

Free Cash Flow

$1,621,205

$658,049

+146.4%



Find out why Fools always follow the money.

Related Companies:

  • Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL)
  • Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT)
  • Napster (NASDAQ:NAPS)
  • Time Warner (NYSE:TWX)
  • United Online (NASDAQ:UNTD)
  • Yahoo! (NASDAQ:YHOO)

Related Foolishness:

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Fool contributor Tim Beyers didn't own shares in any of the companies mentioned in this story at the time of publication. You can find out what is in his portfolio by checking Tim's Fool profile . The Motley Fool has an ironclad disclosure policy .