Google's Growth Slows As Advertisers Cut Spending

谷歌(Google Inc.)第一季度感受到了衰退之痛，发布了其上市以来最为缓慢的收入增长。谷歌第一季度收入55.1亿美元，较上年同期的51.9亿美元增长6.2%，但较去年12月当季下滑3%，对于这家近年来一直飞速增长的公司来说，如此幅度的下滑实为少见。Associated Press为了抵抗广告市场的疲弱，位于加州山景城的谷歌削减了开支，还实行了裁员，从而帮助季度净利润较上年同期增长了8.9%，至14.2亿美元，合每股收益4.49美元；上年同期净利润为13.1亿美元，每股收益4.12美元。谷歌还宣布将对公司高层进行重大调整。在公司任职10年之久负责全球营销和业务开发的资深副总裁科尔德斯坦尼(Omid Kordestani)将为Nikesh Arora取代，后者目前为负责全球运营的总裁。科尔德斯坦尼1999年加入谷歌，是公司第一批业务管理人员之一。谷歌称，科尔德斯坦尼将继续担任公司首席执行长和创始人的高级顾问。谷歌周四还宣布，旗下YouTube视频网站与一些好莱坞电影公司及其他公司达成合作协议，播放这些公司提供的内容。比起大多数科技公司，谷歌的业务更能抵御经济滑坡的影响。但在今年第一季度，随着广告客户缩减开支，谷歌的增长也随之减缓。在与分析师们举行的电话会议中，谷歌首席执行长施密特(Eric Schmidt)说谷歌绝对感受到了经济衰退的影响，但他认为公司“一待经济复苏就能获得很好的发展”。施密特说，随着消费者减少网上购物，广告客户也降低了对谷歌搜索广告的竞价。一些研究公司发现，第一季度谷歌扩大了在总体搜索和在线广告市场份额上的领先优势，这表明谷歌的业绩优于竞争对手。消费者仍然进行搜索并点击广告，这一点也帮助了谷歌。第一季度付费点击量较上年同期增加了17%。付费点击量是用于衡量用户点击谷歌广告的频率。在多年来大规模扩充员工队伍后，谷歌的员工数量在第一季度出现缩水。不久前谷歌宣布了裁撤数百个职位的计划，3月底全职员工为20,164人，较12月底的20,222有所减少。产品管理资深副总裁罗森柏格(Jonathan Rosenberg)对分析师们表示，谷歌目前正在大手笔投入新的在线广告业务，以抵消核心搜索业务增长放缓的影响，但同时公司还有在搜索业务上实现更多收入的很大空间。Jessica E. Vascellaro相关阅读谷歌第一财季净利润增加8.9% 2009-04-17从谷歌业绩中探寻网络广告状况 2009-04-16 本文涉及股票或公司document.write (truthmeter('2009年04月17日09:36', 'GOOG'));Google Inc. (Cl A)总部地点：美国上市地点：纳斯达克股票代码：GOOG


Google Inc. (GOOG) felt the pain of the recession in the first quarter, posting its slowest revenue growth as a public company.Revenue rose 6.2% to $5.51 billion from $5.19 billion a year ago, but declined 3% from the December quarter - a rare slip for a company that has seen gangbuster growth in recent years.The Mountain View, Calif., company reduced expenses and trimmed jobs to combat the weak advertising market, helping to lift quarterly profit 8.9% to $1.42 billion, or $4.49 a share, from $1.31 billion, or $4.12 a share, in the year-earlier period.Google also announced a significant change to its senior ranks. Omid Kordestani, a 10-year Google veteran who is senior vice president of global sales and business development, will be replaced by Nikesh Arora, currently president of international operations.Kordestani, who joined Google in 1999 as one of its first business executives, will remain a senior adviser to Google's chief executive and founders, the company said.Also Thursday, Google said its YouTube video site struck partnerships to carry content from some Hollywood studios and others.The company's business has been more resistant to the economic slump than most technology companies. But growth slowed in the latest quarter as advertisers cut back their spending.In a call with analysts, Chief Executive Eric Schmidt said Google is 'absolutely feeling the impact' from the recession but thinks the company is 'well placed for the recovery as it occurs.'Schmidt said as consumers buy less online, advertisers are reducing how much they are willing to bid for Google's search ads.Some research firms found that during the quarter, Google widened its lead in overall searches and online advertising market share - evidence that the company is performing better than competitors.Google was helped by the fact that consumers continued to search and click on its ads. The number of paid clicks - a measure of how frequently users click on Google ads - rose 17% in the first quarter from a year ago.After years of aggressive hiring, Google's work force shrank in the first quarter. The company, which recently announced plans to eliminate a few hundred jobs, ended March with 20,164 full-time employees, down from 20,222 at the end of December.While Google is investing heavily in new online-ad businesses to offset slower growth in its core search operation, Jonathan Rosenberg, senior vice president for product management, told analysts that the company still has plenty of room to wring more money out of its search business.Jessica E. Vascellaro