Google’s Fortunes Unfazed By Economy

Google Inc. generated $5.54 billion in revenue during third-quarter 2008, up from $4.23 billion in third quarter 2007 and $5.37 billion in second-quarter 2008. The company’s net income for the quarter was $1.35 billion, up from $1.07 billion a year ago and $1.25 billion in second-quarter 2008. The quarter ended Sept. 30.

“The measurability and ROI of search-based advertising remain key assets for Google,” said Eric Schmidt, Google’s CEO, in a statement.

Schmidt continued, “While we are realistic about the poor state of the global economy, we will continue to manage Google for the long term, driving improvements to search and ads, while also investing in future growth areas such as enterprise, mobile, and display.”

Within Google’s various operations, site revenue made up $3.67 billion, or 67%, of its total revenue, up from $2.73 billion a year ago. Google’s partner sites generated revenue of $1.68 billion, up from $1.45 billion a year ago.

International revenue accounted for $2.85 billion, or 51% of the company’s total revenue, compared with 48% a year ago.

The company recorded an 18% jump in aggregated paid clicks over third-quarter 2007’s level.