Google delivers another mixed bag in 2nd quarter as earnings disappoint while revenue surges

Google's second-quarter earnings rose 6 percent as World Cup fever drove more traffic to the Internet company's search engine and YouTube video site while Android devices spurred more sales of movies, music, books and applications through its mobile store.

The report released Thursday also showed that Google's advertising prices are still dropping to extend a nearly three-year slump. Meanwhile, the company's expenses are steadily rising as it hires more workers, promotes products and ventures to new technological frontiers such as Internet-connected eyewear, driverless cars and robots.

Those trends have frustrated many investors, causing Google's stock to lag the broader market this year even though most analysts still view the company as a great long-term investment. The company's shares had gained 4 percent through Thursday's close, compared to a 6 percent increase in the Standard & Poor's 500 index.

Investors were lukewarm about the second-quarter numbers as Google's stock ticked up $3.01 to $584.01 in extended trading.

Google Inc. earned $3.4 billion, or $4.99 per share, during the April-June period. That compared to income of $3.2 billion, or $4.77 per share, at the same time last year.

If not for the costs of employee stock compensation, Google said it would have earned $6.08 per share. That figure missed the average analyst target of $6.23 per share, according to FactSet.

Revenue totaled nearly $16 billion, a 22 percent increase from a year ago.

After subtracting the commissions paid to Google's advertising partners, revenue stood at $12.8 billion — nearly $500 million above analysts' projections.