Google earnings gurgle

Google made news Tuesday, but not in a good way. The company missed analysts' expectations for fourth-quarter earnings--the first time it's done so since going public in 2004.

The search company still reported a profit of $372.2 million for the quarter, nearly double the year-ago period. But thanks in part to higher-than-expected tax rates, that number fell far short of what analysts were looking for.

While the company's share price plunged, bloggers weren't ready to throw in the towel just yet. However there were concerns that the company may be coming off the "do no wrong" era and settling down for more modest gains, at least financially.

Blog community response:

"Most importantly, for the first time since Google went public, it failed to exceed the Street's printed revenue estimates. This suggests that near-term investor expectations have finally exceeded reality."
--Internet Outsider

"I fear that, if they are not careful, they could suffer a fate similar to that of Netscape, which popularized Web browsing and ended up being gobbled up by AOL, where it is now a shadow of its former self."
--The TNL.net Weblog

"In general then, Google's 'problems' are the same as they ever were: overreliance on ad revenue, and overreliance on the content network."
--Traffick