Google profits drop by five per cent year-on-year

Missed analyst target causes three per cent share price fall

Google has reported 2014 Q3 profits which reflect a five per cent year-on-year fall, making $2.8 (£1.7bn).

The results sent share values plummeting by three per cent - to $510.11 a share - and, according to analysts, Google has also missed expectations for revenue, which increased by 20 per cent, hitting $16.52bn (£10.3bn)

Google's ‘cost-per-click' average - often thought of as the beating heart of Google's moneymaking empire - has also reduced by two per cent. However, while online advertising rates have been declining for several years, this two per cent deficit is an improvement over Q2 2014's six per cent decline.

The total number of paid clicks grew by 17 per cent in the third quarter compared with 2013, but that figure was down from the 25 per cent growth rate that Google achieved in the second quarter of 2014.

Despite failing to meet market expectations, Google CFO Patrick Pichette said that "Google had another strong performance this quarter, with revenue up 20 per cent year-on-year, at $16.5 billion".

We continue to be excited about the growth in our advertising and emerging businesses," he said.

On Thursday Google announced that it had appointed Omid Kordestani as its new business officer, after Nikesh Arora left the company to join Japanese tech firm Softbank.