Google reports solid fourth quarter

Google reported a solid fourth quarter on Thursday, in an announcement that included news of a major shift at the company's executive levels.

For the quarter ending 31 December, 2010, the company reported income of $2.85bn (£1.79bn), or $8.75 per share, up from $6.79 for the same quarter a year ago. Revenue was $6.37bn, excluding traffic acquisition costs. Those costs, at $2.07bn, represented 25 percent of advertising revenue. Wall Street analysts had been expecting earnings of $8.09 per share on revenue of $6.05bn.

In a call with analysts, chief financial officer Patrick Pichette said that Google had delivered "excellent financial performance" for 2010 and, with a digital economy that "is clearly in high gear", the company is positioned to take on an "aggressive growth agenda". Google also announced an executive shake-up that sees Larry Page taking on the role of chief executive.

For more on this ZDNet UK-selected story, see Google earnings: Solid quarter shadowed by management changes on ZDNet.com.