Search for “BEAT”: Google Crushes Top AND Bottom Line

Google shares jumped after-hours after the search giant delivered a blowout quarter, beating on both earnings and revenue.

The search engine and advertising company[GOOG  528.94   -9.32  (-1.73%) said its earnings excluding items shot up to $8.74 a share from $6.45 a year earlier.

Revenue soared 36 percent to $6.92 billion from $5.09 billion a year ago.

Analysts expected Google to earn $7.85 a share on revenue of $6.55 billion, according to Thomson Reuters.

Net income increased 36 percent to $2.51 million, or $7.68 a share.

Google shares have a had a rocky week after a downgrade by Morgan Stanley, which cut its price target on the stock to $600 from $645.

“Given Google’s aggressive hiring plans, rising compensation expense, and significant advertising spend on Chrome and other Google products, we expect EBITDA margin to decline in 2011 and 2012,” a report by Morgan Stanley said.

The stock also fell during regular trading Thursday, down more than 2 percent, but rebounded more than 10 percent in after-hours trading after the report

Source: CNBC