Google's quarterly results disappoint analysts

Google Inc fell the most
in more than three years
 after Larry Page delivered
his first disappointing quarterly results. 

SAN FRANCISCO: Google Inc fell the most in more than three years after Larry Page delivered his first disappointing quarterly results as chief executive officer, showing that a mobile advertising push and weakness in Europe curtailed growth. 

Fourth-quarter sales, excluding revenue passed on to partner sites, of $8.13 billion, falling short of the $8.41 billion average estimate of analysts surveyed by Bloomberg, a report yesterday showed. Profit before certain costs was $9.50 a share, missing the $10.50 average estimate. 

Page, CEO since April, is exiting poorly performing businesses while expanding in new areas, including the mobile Web, to lessen reliance on traditional search. While that's helping boost sales, it also crimps the amount of money Google can collect from advertisers because ads viewed on handsets are considered less valuable than those on a computer screen. 

"Google looks more mortal this quarter," said Colin Gillis, analyst at BGC Partners LP in New York. "A lot of what Larry Page is doing is a lot more tolerable to investors when the business is firing on all cylinders." 
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