Solid growth for Google expected despite economy

Investors and analysts will be keying on any sign in the company's results of weakness in the overall online advertising market amid the U.S. economic slowdown.
Analysts on average estimate that Mountain View, Calif.-based Google (GOOG:google
540.57, -0.98, -0.2%) will report earnings excluding special items of $4.73 a share, and $3.85 billion in net revenue for the period ended in June, according to FactSet Research.
That compares to earnings excluding special items of $3.56 a share, and $2.7 billion in net revenue for the same period a year earlier.
Investors and analysts are keen to hear what executives at the online advertising giant have to say about the current health of the market. Google executives have acknowledged in the past that the company may be susceptible to swings in the overall economy, though they do not as a rule offer any guidance for their financial results.
Investors and analysts will also be listening closely to what Google has to say about progress in broadening the company's services beyond search, for example by matching advertisements to videos served on its YouTube unit.
While expectations for revenue from YouTube advertising have generally been low, The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this week that the unit is on pace to produce only $200 million in revenue this year, as the company struggles to streamline related ad sales.
In addition, Google has seen a general decline in the number of times users are clicking on search ads and generating revenue. Google has portrayed the decline as a reflection of quality initiatives, which have reduced overall clicks while nonetheless pushing bids for more quality ads higher. The company's fiscal first-quarter results reported in April generally exceeded expectations, and assuaged analysts' and investors' concerns about Google's paid click rate. See related story.
Shares of Google have risen more than 15% in the past three months. The shares closed down slightly at $540.57 on Thursday.
Citigroup analyst Mark Mahaney wrote in a note to clients Thursday that he estimates Google will report net income of $4.73 a share for the second quarter, and $3.82 billion in net revenue.

"Google continues to gain the lion's share of ad budgets, especially given the uncertainty and flight of talent at Yahoo," Mahaney wrote.
Google may also provide an update on its proposed advertising partnership with Yahoo. The partnership, which would have Google match searches made on Yahoo sites with advertisements, could provide a revenue boost to Yahoo while expanding Google's already considerable control of U.S. search advertising revenue.