UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 10-Q
(Mark One)
| x | QUARTERLY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 |
For the quarterly period ended September 30, 2007
OR
| ¨ | TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 |
For the transition period from to
Commission file number: 000-50726
Google Inc.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
| Delaware | 77-0493581 | |
| (State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) |
(I.R.S. Employer Identification Number) |
1600 Amphitheatre Parkway
Mountain View, CA 94043
(Address of principal executive offices)
(Zip Code)
(650) 253-0000
(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant: (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes x No ¨
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, or a non-accelerated filer. See definition of “accelerated filer and large accelerated filer” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):
Large accelerated filer x Accelerated filer ¨ Non-accelerated filer ¨
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes ¨ No x
At October 31, 2007, there were 235,493,174 shares of Google’s Class A common stock outstanding and 77,347,311 shares of Google’s Class B common stock outstanding.
INDEX
| Page No. | ||||
| PART I. FINANCIAL INFORMATION | ||||
| Item 1 | Financial Statements | |||
| Consolidated Balance Sheets—December 31, 2006 and September 30, 2007 (unaudited) | 3 | |||
| Consolidated Statements of Income—Three and Nine Months Ended September 30, 2006 and 2007 (unaudited) | 4 | |||
| Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows—Nine Months Ended September 30, 2006 and 2007 (unaudited) | 5 | |||
| Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements (unaudited) | 6 | |||
| Item 2 | Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations | 18 | ||
| Item 3 | Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk | 33 | ||
| Item 4 | Controls and Procedures | 34 | ||
| PART II. OTHER INFORMATION | ||||
| Item 1 | Legal Proceedings | 35 | ||
| Item 1A | Risk Factors | 35 | ||
| Item 2 | Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds | 46 | ||
| Item 6 | Exhibits | 47 | ||
| Signatures | 48 | |||
| Exhibit Index | 49 | |||
| Certifications | ||||
2
PART I—FINANCIAL INFORMATION
| ITEM 1. | FINANCIAL STATEMENTS |
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(in thousands, except par value)
|
As of December 31, 2006 |
As of September 30, 2007 |
|||||
| (unaudited) | ||||||
|
Assets |
||||||
|
Current assets: |
||||||
|
Cash and cash equivalents |
$ | 3,544,671 | $ | 5,106,404 | ||
|
Marketable securities |
7,699,243 | 7,980,941 | ||||
|
Accounts receivable, net of allowance of $16,914 and $38,130 |
1,322,340 | 1,887,860 | ||||
|
Deferred income taxes, net |
29,713 | 87,963 | ||||
|
Prepaid revenue share, expenses and other assets |
443,880 | 670,593 | ||||
|
Total current assets |
13,039,847 | 15,733,761 | ||||
|
Prepaid revenue share, expenses and other assets, non-current |
114,455 | 170,069 | ||||
|
Deferred income taxes, net, non-current |
— | 37,219 | ||||
|
Non-marketable equity securities |
1,031,850 | 1,048,138 | ||||
|
Property and equipment, net |
2,395,239 | 3,588,814 | ||||
|
Intangible assets, net |
346,841 | 485,252 | ||||
|
Goodwill |
1,545,119 | 2,277,397 | ||||
|
Total assets |
$ | 18,473,351 | $ | 23,340,650 | ||
| Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity | ||||||
|
Current liabilities: |
||||||
|
Accounts payable |
$ | 211,169 | $ | 231,883 | ||
|
Accrued compensation and benefits |
351,671 | 496,073 | ||||
|
Accrued expenses and other current liabilities |
266,247 | 400,889 | ||||
|
Accrued revenue share |
370,364 | 507,693 | ||||
|
Deferred revenue |
105,136 | 146,129 | ||||
|
Total current liabilities |
1,304,587 | 1,782,667 | ||||
|
Deferred revenue, long-term |
20,006 | 23,676 | ||||
|
Deferred income taxes, net |
40,421 | — | ||||
|
Income taxes payable, long-term |
— | 406,555 | ||||
|
Other long-term liabilities |
68,497 | 90,981 | ||||
|
Commitments and contingencies |
||||||
|
Stockholders’ equity: |
||||||
|
Class A and Class B common stock, $0.001 par value: 9,000,000 shares authorized; 308,997 (Class A 227,670, Class B 81,327) and par value of $309 (Class A $228, Class B $81) and 311,956 (Class A 233,300, Class B 78,656) and par value of $312 (Class A $233, Class B $79) shares issued and outstanding, excluding 1,296 (Class A 1,045, Class B 251) and 540 (Class A 462, Class B 78) shares subject to repurchase at December 31, 2006 and September 30, 2007 |
309 | 312 | ||||
|
Additional paid-in capital |
11,882,906 | 12,831,437 | ||||
|
Accumulated other comprehensive income |
23,311 | 81,544 | ||||
|
Retained earnings |
5,133,314 | 8,123,478 | ||||
|
Total stockholders’ equity |
17,039,840 | 21,036,771 | ||||
|
Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity |
$ | 18,473,351 | $ | 23,340,650 | ||
See accompanying notes.
3
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME
(in thousands, except per share amounts)
| Three Months Ended September 30, |
Nine Months Ended September 30, |
|||||||||||
| 2006 | 2007 | 2006 | 2007 | |||||||||
| (unaudited) | ||||||||||||
|
Revenues |
$ | 2,689,673 | $ | 4,231,351 | $ | 7,399,419 | $ | 11,767,307 | ||||
|
Costs and expenses: |
||||||||||||
|
Cost of revenues (including stock-based compensation expense of $2,149, $4,031, $6,754 and $16,080) |
1,048,728 | 1,662,579 | 2,941,879 | 4,693,261 | ||||||||
|
Research and development (including stock-based compensation expense of $61,714, $130,655, $205,364 and $408,425) |
312,632 | 548,712 | 841,783 | 1,489,202 | ||||||||
|
Sales and marketing (including stock-based compensation expense of $14,673, $29,918, $44,887 and $93,553) |
206,972 | 380,820 | 594,312 | 1,038,976 | ||||||||
|
General and administrative (including stock-based compensation expense of $21,324, $33,352, $66,668 and $105,288) |
190,010 | 321,398 | 532,043 | 902,202 | ||||||||
|
Total costs and expenses |
1,758,342 | 2,913,509 | 4,910,017 | 8,123,641 | ||||||||
|
Income from operations |
931,331 | 1,317,842 | 2,489,402 | 3,643,666 | ||||||||
|
Interest income and other, net |
108,180 | 154,428 | 336,904 | 422,287 | ||||||||
|
Income before income taxes |
1,039,511 | 1,472,270 | 2,826,306 | 4,065,953 | ||||||||
|
Provision for income taxes |
306,150 | 402,281 | 779,577 | 1,068,682 | ||||||||
|
Net income |
$ | 733,361 | $ | 1,069,989 | $ | 2,046,729 | $ | 2,997,271 | ||||
|
Net income per share of Class A and Class B common stock: |
||||||||||||
|
Basic |
$ | 2.42 | $ | 3.44 | $ | 6.83 | $ | 9.66 | ||||
|
Diluted |
$ | 2.36 | $ | 3.38 | $ | 6.64 | $ | 9.50 | ||||
See accompanying notes.
4
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
(in thousands)
|
Nine Months Ended September 30, |
||||||||
| 2006 | 2007 | |||||||
| (unaudited) | ||||||||
|
Operating activities |
||||||||
|
Net income |
$ | 2,046,729 | $ | 2,997,271 | ||||
|
Adjustments: |
||||||||
|
Depreciation and amortization of property and equipment |
335,629 | 565,841 | ||||||
|
Amortization of intangibles and other |
47,060 | 111,881 | ||||||
|
Stock-based compensation |
323,673 | 623,346 | ||||||
|
Excess tax benefits from stock-based award activity |
(329,068 | ) | (238,577 | ) | ||||
|
Other, net |
10,800 | (7,215 | ) | |||||
|
Changes in assets and liabilities, net of effects of acquisitions: |
||||||||
|
Accounts receivable |
(343,356 | ) | (559,425 | ) | ||||
|
Income taxes, net |
528,493 | 431,048 | ||||||
|
Prepaid revenue share, expenses and other assets |
(267,759 | ) | (237,262 | ) | ||||
|
Accounts payable |
91,198 | 20,155 | ||||||
|
Accrued expenses and other liabilities |
124,640 | 206,522 | ||||||
|
Accrued revenue share |
90,856 | 136,446 | ||||||
|
Deferred revenue |
10,819 | 32,131 | ||||||
|
Net cash provided by operating activities |
2,669,714 | 4,082,162 | ||||||
| Investing activities | ||||||||
|
Purchases of property and equipment |
(1,536,160 | ) | (1,724,631 | ) | ||||
|
Purchases of marketable securities |
(23,151,347 | ) | (11,756,147 | ) | ||||
|
Maturities and sales of marketable securities |
19,888,930 | 11,519,001 | ||||||
|
Investments in non-marketable equity securities |
(1,014,222 | ) | (21,288 | ) | ||||
|
Acquisitions, net of cash acquired, and purchases of intangible and other assets |
(257,812 | ) | (823,092 | ) | ||||
|
Net cash used in investing activities |
(6,070,611 | ) | (2,806,157 | ) | ||||
| Financing activities | ||||||||
|
Net proceeds from stock-based award activity |
155,551 | 19,073 | ||||||
|
Net proceeds from a public stock offering |
2,063,751 | — | ||||||
|
Excess tax benefits from stock-based award activity |
329,068 | 238,577 | ||||||
|
Net cash provided by financing activities |
2,548,370 | 257,650 | ||||||
|
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents |
13,694 | 28,078 | ||||||
|
Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents |
(838,833 | ) | 1,561,733 | |||||
|
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of year |
3,877,174 | 3,544,671 | ||||||
|
Cash and cash equivalents at end of period |
$ | 3,038,341 | $ | 5,106,404 | ||||
| Supplemental disclosures of cash flow information | ||||||||
|
Cash paid for interest |
$ | 206 | $ | 1,032 | ||||
|
Cash paid for income taxes |
$ | 350,703 | $ | 638,050 | ||||
See accompanying notes.
5
GOOGLE INC.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(Unaudited)
Note 1. Google Inc. and Summary of Accounting Policies
Nature of Operations
We were incorporated in California in September 1998. We were re-incorporated in the State of Delaware in August 2003. We provide highly targeted advertising and global internet search solutions as well as intranet solutions via an enterprise search appliance.
Basis of Consolidation
The Consolidated Financial Statements include the accounts of Google and our wholly-owned subsidiaries. All intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated.
Unaudited Interim Financial Information
The accompanying Consolidated Balance Sheet as of September 30, 2007, the Consolidated Statements of Income for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2006 and 2007, and the Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for the nine months ended September 30, 2006 and 2007 are unaudited. These unaudited interim Consolidated Financial Statements have been prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles. In our opinion, the unaudited interim Consolidated Financial Statements include all adjustments of a normal recurring nature necessary for the fair presentation of our financial position as of September 30, 2007, our results of operations for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2006 and 2007, and our cash flows for the nine months ended September 30, 2006 and 2007. The results of operations for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2007 are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected for the year ending December 31, 2007.
These unaudited interim Consolidated Financial Statements should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and related notes included in our 2006 Annual Report on Form 10-K filed on March 1, 2007.
Use of Estimates
The preparation of interim Consolidated Financial Statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States requires us to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported and disclosed in the financial statements and the accompanying notes. Actual results could differ materially from these estimates. On an ongoing basis, we evaluate our estimates, including those related to accounts receivable, fair values of marketable and non-marketable securities, fair values of intangible assets and goodwill, useful lives of intangible assets and property and equipment, fair values of options to purchase our common stock, traffic acquisition costs, and income taxes, among others. We base our estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions that are believed to be reasonable, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities. We engage third-party valuation consultants to assist management in the allocation of the purchase price of significant acquisitions.
Effect of Recent Accounting Pronouncements
In September 2006, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued Statement of Financial Accounting Standards (SFAS) No. 157, Fair Value Measurements, which defines fair value, establishes a framework for measuring fair value in generally accepted accounting principles, and expands disclosures about fair value measurements. SFAS No. 157 does not require any new fair value measurements, but provides guidance on how to measure fair value by providing a fair value hierarchy used to classify the source of the information. This statement is effective for us beginning January 1, 2008. We are currently evaluating the impact of the adoption of SFAS No. 157 on our financial statements.
In February 2007, the FASB issued SFAS No. 159, The Fair Value Option for Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities- including an Amendment of FASB Statement No. 115, which allows an entity to choose to measure certain financial instruments and liabilities at fair value. Subsequent measurements for the financial instruments and liabilities an entity elects to fair value will be recognized in earnings. SFAS No. 159 also establishes additional disclosure requirements. SFAS No. 159 is effective for fiscal years beginning after November 15, 2007, with early adoption permitted provided that the entity also adopts SFAS No. 157. We are currently evaluating whether to adopt SFAS No. 159 and, if adopted, the impact of such adoption.
6
Note 2. Net Income per Share of Class A and Class B common stock
The following table sets forth the computation of basic and diluted net income per share of Class A and Class B common stock (in thousands, except per share amounts, unaudited):
|
For the Three Months Ended September 30, |
For the Nine Months Ended September 30, |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2006 | 2007 | 2006 | 2007 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (unaudited) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Class A | Class B | Class A | Class B | Class A | Class B | Class A | Class B | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Basic net income per share: |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Numerator: |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Allocation of undistributed earnings |
$ | 529,216 | $ | 204,145 | $ | 798,259 | $ | 271,730 | $ | 1,450,615 | $ | 596,114 | $ | 2,225,486 | $ | 771,785 | ||||||||||||||||
|
Denominator: |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Weighted average common shares outstanding |
219,786 | 84,850 | 232,703 | 79,136 | 213,723 | 87,957 | 231,111 | 80,065 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Less: Weighted average unvested common shares subject to repurchase or cancellation |
(843 | ) | (393 | ) | (519 | ) | (99 | ) | (1,404 | ) | (707 | ) | (694 | ) | (158 | ) | ||||||||||||||||
|
Number of shares used in per share computations |
218,943 | 84,457 | 232,184 | 79,037 | 212,319 | 87,250 | 230,417 | 79,907 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Basic net income per share |
$ | 2.42 | $ | 2.42 | $ | 3.44 | $ | 3.44 | $ | 6.83 | $ | 6.83 | $ | 9.66 | $ | 9.66 | ||||||||||||||||
|
Diluted net income per share: |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Numerator: |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Allocation of undistributed earnings for basic computation |
$ | 529,216 | $ | 204,145 | $ | 798,259 | $ | 271,730 | $ | 1,450,615 | $ | 596,114 | $ | 2,225,486 | $ | 771,785 | ||||||||||||||||
|
Reallocation of undistributed earnings as a result of conversion of Class B to Class A shares |
204,145 | — | 271,730 | — | 596,114 | — | 771,785 | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Reallocation of undistributed earnings to Class B shares |
— | (468 | ) | — | (2,076 | ) | — | (787 | ) | — | (4,765 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||
|
Allocation of undistributed earnings |
$ | 733,361 | $ | 203,677 | $ | 1,069,989 | $ | 269,654 | $ | 2,046,729 | $ | 595,327 | $ | 2,997,271 | $ | 767,020 | ||||||||||||||||
|
Denominator: |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Number of shares used in basic computation |
218,943 | 84,457 | 232,184 | 79,037 | 212,319 | 87,250 | 230,417 | 79,907 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Weighted average effect of dilutive securities |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Add: |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Conversion of Class B to Class A common shares outstanding |
84,457 | — | 79,037 | — | 87,250 | — | 79,907 | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Unvested common shares subject to repurchase or cancellation |
1,236 | 393 | 618 | 99 | 2,111 | 707 | 852 | 158 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Employee stock options including warrants issued under TSO program (see Note 10) |
5,623 | 1,406 | 3,719 | 646 | 6,227 | 1,701 | 3,537 | 709 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Restricted shares and restricted stock units |
315 | — | 1,018 | — | 338 | — | 925 | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Number of shares used in per share computations |
310,574 | 86,256 | 316,576 | 79,782 | 308,245 | 89,658 | 315,638 | 80,774 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Diluted net income per share |
$ | 2.36 | $ | 2.36 | $ | 3.38 | $ | 3.38 | $ | 6.64 | $ | 6.64 | $ | 9.50 | $ | 9.50 | ||||||||||||||||
7
Certain securities have been excluded from our net income per share computation because their effect was anti-dilutive. The number of shares excluded was not material in any of the periods presented.
Note 3. Cash, Cash Equivalents and Marketable Securities
Cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities consists of the following (in thousands):
| As of December 31, 2006 |
As of September 30, 2007 |
|||||
| (unaudited) | ||||||
|
Cash and cash equivalents: |
||||||
|
Cash |
$ | 1,579,702 | $ | 1,020,678 | ||
|
Cash equivalents: |
||||||
|
U.S. government agencies |
323,900 | 488,042 | ||||
|
Time deposits |
— | 500,000 | ||||
|
Municipal securities |
216,529 | 373,434 | ||||
|
Money market funds |
1,424,540 | 2,724,250 | ||||
|
Total cash and cash equivalents |
3,544,671 | 5,106,404 | ||||
|
Marketable securities: |
||||||
|
U.S. government notes |
2,697,880 | 1,005,250 | ||||
|
U.S. government agencies |
2,839,430 | 3,797,170 | ||||
|
Municipal securities |
1,622,570 | 3,107,064 | ||||
|
Time deposits |
500,000 | — | ||||
|
U.S. corporate securities |
39,363 | 71,457 | ||||
|
Total marketable securities |
7,699,243 | 7,980,941 | ||||
|
Total cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities |
$ | 11,243,914 | $ | 13,087,345 | ||
The following table summarizes unrealized gains and losses related to our investments in marketable securities designated as available-for-sale (in thousands):
| As of December 31, 2006 | |||||||||||||
| Adjusted Cost |
Gross Unrealized Gains |
Gross Unrealized Losses |
Fair Value | ||||||||||
|
U.S. government notes |
$ | 2,704,753 | $ | 1,201 | $ | (8,074 | ) | $ | 2,697,880 | ||||
|
U.S. government agencies |
2,838,759 | 4,081 | (3,410 | ) | 2,839,430 | ||||||||
|
Municipal securities |
1,627,428 | 197 | (5,055 | ) | 1,622,570 | ||||||||
|
Time deposits |
500,000 | — | — | 500,000 | |||||||||
|
U.S. corporate securities |
39,363 | — | — | 39,363 | |||||||||
|
Total marketable securities |
$ | 7,710,303 | $ | 5,479 | $ | (16,539 | ) | $ | 7,699,243 | ||||
| As of September 30, 2007 | |||||||||||||
| Adjusted Cost |
Gross Unrealized Gains |
Gross Unrealized Losses |
Fair Value | ||||||||||
| (unaudited) | |||||||||||||
|
U.S. government notes |
$ | 1,003,081 | $ | 2,172 | $ | (3 | ) | $ | 1,005,250 | ||||
|
U.S. government agencies |
3,786,391 | 11,862 | (1,083 | ) | 3,797,170 | ||||||||
|
Municipal securities |
3,103,482 | 4,433 | (851 | ) | 3,107,064 | ||||||||
|
U.S. corporate securities |
71,457 | — | — | 71,457 | |||||||||
|
Total marketable securities |
$ | 7,964,411 | $ | 18,467 | $ | (1,937 | ) | $ | 7,980,941 | ||||
8
Gross unrealized gains and losses on cash equivalents were not material at December 31, 2006 and September 30, 2007. We recognized net realized gains of $10.0 million and $17.0 million on the sale of marketable securities during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2007. We recognized a net realized loss of $4.8 million and a net realized gain of $41.9 million on the sale of marketable securities during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2006. There were no other-than-temporary impairments to our marketable securities in the three and nine months ended September 30, 2006 and 2007. Realized gains and losses are included in interest income and other, net in our accompanying Consolidated Statements of Income.
The following table summarizes the estimated fair value of our investments in marketable debt securities designated as available-for-sale classified by the contractual maturity date of the security (in thousands):
| As of December 31, 2006 |
As of September 30, 2007 |
|||||
| (unaudited) | ||||||
|
Due within 1 year |
$ | 3,448,793 | $ | 1,580,685 | ||
|
Due after 1 year through 5 years |
3,426,600 | 4,517,905 | ||||
|
Due after 5 years through 10 years |
57,590 | 180,437 | ||||
|
Due after 10 years |
726,898 | 1,630,457 | ||||
|
Total marketable debt securities |
$ | 7,659,881 | $ | 7,909,484 | ||
In accordance with EITF 03-1, The Meaning of Other-Than-Temporary Impairment and Its Application to Certain Investments, the following table shows gross unrealized losses and fair value for those investments that were in an unrealized loss position as of December 31, 2006 and September 30, 2007, aggregated by investment category and the length of time that individual securities have been in a continuous loss position (in thousands):
| As of December 31, 2006 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Less than 12 Months | 12 Months or Greater | Total | |||||||||||||||||||
| Fair Value | Unrealized Loss |
Fair Value | Unrealized Loss |
Fair Value | Unrealized Loss |
||||||||||||||||
|
U.S. government notes |
$ | 893,264 | $ | (3,339 | ) | $ | 1,138,237 | $ | (4,735 | ) | $ | 2,031,501 | $ | (8,074 | ) | ||||||
|
U.S. government agencies |
1,620,106 | (2,603 | ) | 193,178 | (807 | ) | 1,813,284 | (3,410 | ) | ||||||||||||
|
Municipal securities |
676,089 | (1,473 | ) | 248,953 | (3,582 | ) | 925,042 | (5,055 | ) | ||||||||||||
|
Total |
$ | 3,189,459 | $ | (7,415 | ) | $ | 1,580,368 | $ | (9,124 | ) | $ | 4,769,827 | $ | (16,539 | ) | ||||||
| As of September 30, 2007 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Less than 12 Months | 12 Months or Greater | Total | |||||||||||||||||||
| Fair Value | Unrealized Loss |
Fair Value | Unrealized Loss |
Fair Value | Unrealized Loss |
||||||||||||||||
| (unaudited) | |||||||||||||||||||||
|
U.S. government notes |
$ | 31,997 | $ | (3 | ) | $ | — | $ | — | $ | 31,997 | $ | (3 | ) | |||||||
|
U.S. government agencies |
391,435 | (842 | ) | 125,772 | (241 | ) | 517,207 | (1,083 | ) | ||||||||||||
|
Municipal securities |
142,505 | (345 | ) | 118,147 | (506 | ) | 260,652 | (851 | ) | ||||||||||||
|
Total |
$ | 565,937 | $ | (1,190 | ) | $ | 243,919 | $ | (747 | ) | $ | 809,856 | $ | (1,937 | ) | ||||||
9
Note 4. Property and Equipment
Property and equipment consist of the following (in thousands):
| As of December 31, 2006 |
As of September 30, 2007 |
|||||
| (unaudited) | ||||||
|
Information technology assets |
$ | 1,778,028 | $ | 2,427,439 | ||
|
Construction in process |
850,164 | 1,406,015 | ||||
|
Land and buildings |
352,112 | 650,122 | ||||
|
Leasehold improvements |
273,262 | 383,251 | ||||
|
Furniture and fixtures |
36,028 | 47,595 | ||||
|
Total |
3,289,594 | 4,914,422 | ||||
|
Less accumulated depreciation and amortization |
894,355 | 1,325,608 | ||||
|
Property and equipment, net |
$ | 2,395,239 | $ | 3,588,814 | ||
Note 5. Acquisitions
In September 2007, we completed the acquisition of Postini, Inc., a provider of information security and compliance solutions. This transaction was accounted for as a business combination. The purchase price was $545.7 million, paid in cash, including direct transaction costs of $1.0 million. The following table summarizes the allocation of the purchase price of Postini (in thousands):
|
Goodwill |
$ | 446,471 | ||
|
Customer relationships |
104,310 | |||
|
Patents and developed technology |
35,510 | |||
|
Tradenames and other |
5,630 | |||
|
Net assets acquired |
8,240 | |||
|
Deferred tax liabilities |
(54,507 | ) | ||
|
Total |
$ | 545,654 | ||
Net assets acquired include involuntary termination benefits of $16.6 million that we expect to pay certain Postini employees. In addition, we are obligated to make cash payments of up to $44.8 million through 2011, contingent upon each employee’s continued employment with us. These contingent payments will be expensed, when and if earned.
Goodwill is not deductible for tax purposes.
Customer relationships, patents and developed technology, and tradenames and other intangible assets have weighted-average useful lives of 6.8 years, 4.0 years and 2.6 years from the date of acquisition. These assets are not deductible for tax purposes.
Supplemental information on an unaudited pro forma basis, as if the Postini acquisition had been consummated at the beginning of each of the periods presented, is as follows (in thousands, except per share amounts):
|
Three Months Ended September 30, |
Nine Months Ended September 30, |
|||||||||||
| 2006 | 2007 | 2006 | 2007 | |||||||||
| (unaudited) | ||||||||||||
|
Revenues |
$ | 2,703,263 | $ | 4,246,953 | $ | 7,440,302 | $ | 11,819,998 | ||||
|
Net income |
$ | 720,905 | $ | 1,054,741 | $ | 2,012,438 | $ | 2,958,837 | ||||
|
Net income per share of Class A and Class B common stock - diluted |
$ | 2.32 | $ | 3.33 | $ | 6.53 | $ | 9.37 | ||||
10
The unaudited pro forma supplemental information is based on estimates and assumptions, which we believe are reasonable; it is not necessarily indicative of our consolidated financial position or results of income in future periods or the results that actually would have been realized had we been a combined company during the periods presented. The unaudited pro forma supplemental information includes incremental intangible asset amortization and other charges as a result of the acquisition, net of the related tax effects.
During the nine months ended September 30, 2007, we also completed fifteen other acquisitions. Three of these transactions were accounted for as asset purchases in accordance with EITF Issue No. 98-3, Determining Whether a Nonmonetary Transaction Involves Receipt of Productive Assets or of a Business, as the acquired companies were considered to be development stage enterprises. The remaining twelve transactions were accounted for as business combinations. The total initial purchase price for these transactions was $272.5 million and was paid or will be paid in cash. In addition, we are obligated to make additional cash payments of up to $66.8 million if certain performance targets are met through 2010. Since these contingent payments are based on the achievement of performance targets, actual payments may be substantially lower. A portion of these contingent payments will be accounted for as goodwill, and the remaining amounts will be expensed, when and if earned.
In addition, during the nine months ended September 30, 2007, we capitalized intangible assets of $12.8 million, paid in cash, related primarily to milestone payments for acquisitions completed prior to 2007.
The following table summarizes the allocation of the purchase price for all of the above acquisitions, excluding Postini (in thousands):
|
Goodwill |
$ | 197,304 | ||
|
Patents and developed technology |
83,077 | |||
|
Customer relationships |
14,080 | |||
|
Tradenames and other |
7,200 | |||
|
Net assets acquired |
9,311 | |||
|
Deferred tax liabilities |
(30,485 | ) | ||
|
Purchased in-process research and development |
4,790 | |||
|
Total |
$ | 285,277 | ||
Goodwill expected to be deductible for tax purposes is $4.6 million.
Patents and developed technology, customer relationships, and tradenames and other intangible assets have a weighted-average useful life of 3.1 years from the date of acquisition. The amount expected to be deductible for tax purposes is $6.6 million.
Purchased in-process research and development was expensed at the time of the acquisitions because technological feasibility had not been established and no future alternative uses existed. This amount was included in research and development expenses on the accompanying Consolidated Statements of Income.
Note 6. Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets
The changes in the carrying amount of goodwill for the nine months ended September 30, 2007, are as follows (in thousands):
|
Balance as of December 31, 2006 |
$ | 1,545,119 | |
|
Goodwill acquired |
643,775 | ||
|
Goodwill adjustment |
88,503 | ||
|
Balance as of September 30, 2007 |
$ | 2,277,397 | |
The goodwill adjustment of $88.5 million was primarily a result of contingent payments earned upon the achievement of certain performance targets.
11
Information regarding our acquisition-related intangible assets that are being amortized is as follows (in thousands):
| As of December 31, 2006 | |||||||||
| Gross Carrying Amount |
Accumulated Amortization |
Net Carrying Value |
|||||||
|
Patents and developed technology |
$ | 241,185 | $ | 95,927 | $ | 145,258 | |||
|
Customer relationships |
60,636 | 16,359 | 44,277 | ||||||
|
Tradenames and other |
183,721 | 26,415 | $ | 157,306 | |||||
|
Total |
$ | 485,542 | $ | 138,701 | $ | 346,841 | |||
| As of September 30, 2007 | |||||||||
| Gross Carrying Amount |
Accumulated Amortization |
Net Carrying Value |
|||||||
| (unaudited) | |||||||||
|
Patents and developed technology |
$ | 356,847 | $ | 153,871 | $ | 202,976 | |||
|
Customer relationships |
172,727 | 28,708 | 144,019 | ||||||
|
Tradenames and other |
195,496 | 57,239 | 138,257 | ||||||
|
Total |
$ | 725,070 | $ | 239,818 | $ | 485,252 | |||
Patents and developed technology, customer relationships, and tradenames and other have weighted-average useful lives from the date of purchase of 3.3 years, 5.6 years and 4.2 years. Amortization expense of acquisition-related intangible assets for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2006 was $15.8 million and $47.1 million. Amortization expense of acquisition-related intangible assets for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2007 was $40.9 million and $111.5 million.
Amortization expense for acquisition-related intangible assets on our September 30, 2007 Consolidated Balance Sheet for the remainder of 2007 and each of the next five years and thereafter is as follows (in thousands):
|
Remainder of 2007 |
$ | 45,637 | |
|
2008 |
162,306 | ||
|
2009 |
110,544 | ||
|
2010 |
78,932 | ||
|
2011 |
48,169 | ||
|
2012 |
14,929 | ||
|
Thereafter |
24,735 | ||
| $ | 485,252 | ||
Note 7. Interest Income and Other, Net
The components of interest income and other, net were as follows (in thousands):
|
Three Months Ended September 30, |
Nine Months Ended September 30, |
|||||||||||||||
| 2006 | 2007 | 2006 | 2007 | |||||||||||||
| (unaudited) | ||||||||||||||||
|
Interest income |
$ | 108,230 | $ | 146,114 | $ | 290,341 | $ | 414,574 | ||||||||
|
Interest expense |
(21 | ) | (446 | ) | (206 | ) | (1,032 | ) | ||||||||
|
Other |
(29 | ) | 8,760 | 46,769 | 8,745 | |||||||||||
|
Interest income and other, net |
$ | 108,180 | $ | 154,428 | $ | 336,904 | $ | 422,287 | ||||||||
12
Note 8. Comprehensive Income
The changes in the components of other comprehensive income, net of taxes, were as follows (in thousands):
|
Three Months Ended September 30, |
Nine Months Ended September 30, |
||||||||||||
| 2006 | 2007 | 2006 | 2007 | ||||||||||
| (unaudited) | |||||||||||||
|
Net income |
$ | 733,361 | $ | 1,069,989 | $ | 2,046,729 | $ | 2,997,271 | |||||
|
Change in unrealized gains (losses) on marketable securities, net |
24,787 | 29,974 | (17,251 | ) | 16,323 | ||||||||
|
Change in cumulative translation adjustment |
6,598 | 22,322 | 17,695 | 41,910 | |||||||||
|
Comprehensive income |
$ | 764,746 | $ | 1,122,285 | $ | 2,047,173 | $ | 3,055,504 | |||||
The components of accumulated other comprehensive income, net of taxes, were as follows (in thousands):
| As of December 31, 2006 |
As of September 30, 2007 |
||||||
| (unaudited) | |||||||
|
Unrealized gains (losses) on marketable securities, net |
$ | (6,528 | ) | $ | 9,795 | ||
|
Cumulative translation adjustment, net |
29,839 | 71,749 | |||||
|
Accumulated other comprehensive income |
$ | 23,311 | $ | 81,544 | |||
Note 9. Contingencies
Legal Matters
Companies have filed trademark infringement and related claims against us over the display of ads in response to user queries that include trademark terms. The outcomes of these lawsuits have differed from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Courts in France have held us liable for allowing advertisers to select certain trademarked terms as keywords. We are appealing those decisions. We were also subject to two lawsuits in Germany on similar matters where the courts held that we are not liable for the actions of our advertisers prior to notification of trademark rights. We are litigating or have recently litigated similar issues in other cases in the U.S., France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Austria and Australia.
We have also had copyright claims filed against us alleging that features of certain of our products and services, including Google Web Search, Google News, Google Video, Google Image Search, Google Book Search and YouTube, infringe their rights. Adverse results in these lawsuits may include awards of substantial monetary damages, costly royalty or licensing agreements or orders preventing us from offering certain functionalities, and may also result in a change in our business practices, which could result in a loss of revenue for us or otherwise harm our business. In addition, any time one of our products or services links to or hosts material in which others allegedly own copyrights, we face the risk of being sued for copyright infringement or related claims. Because these products and services comprise the majority of our products and services, our business could be harmed in the event of an adverse result in any of these claims.
13
We are also a party to other litigation and subject to claims incident to the ordinary course of business, including intellectual property claims (in addition to the trademark and copyright matters noted above), labor and employment claims, breach of contract claims, tax and other matters.
Although the results of litigation and claims cannot be predicted with certainty, we believe that the final outcome of the matters discussed above will not have a material adverse effect on our business, consolidated financial position, results of operations or cash flows.
Income Taxes
We are currently under audit by the Internal Revenue Service and various other tax authorities. We have reserved for potential adjustments to our provision for income taxes that may result from examinations by, or any negotiated agreements with, these tax authorities, and we believe that the final outcome of these examinations or agreements will not have a material effect on our results of operations. If events occur which indicate payment of these amounts is unnecessary, the reversal of the liabilities would result in the recognition of tax benefits in the period we determine the liabilities are no longer necessary. If our estimates of the federal, state, and foreign income tax liabilities are less than the ultimate assessment, a further charge to expense would result.
Note 10. Stockholders’ Equity
The following table presents the weighted-average assumptions used to estimate the fair values of the stock options granted in the periods presented:
|
Three Months Ended September 30, |
Nine Months Ended September 30, |
|||||||||||||||
| 2006 | 2007 | 2006 | 2007 | |||||||||||||
| (unaudited) | ||||||||||||||||
|
Risk-free interest rate |
4.9 | % | 4.5 | % | 4.8 | % | 4.6 | % | ||||||||
|
Expected volatility |
34 | % | 29 | % | 37 | % | 29 | % | ||||||||
|
Expected life (in years) |
3.9 | 5.6 | 3.4 | 4.7 | ||||||||||||
|
Dividend yield |
— | — | — | — | ||||||||||||
|
Weighted-average grant date fair value of options granted during the period |
$ | 132.10 | $ | 193.29 | $ | 129.7 | $ | 163.14 | ||||||||
The following table summarizes the activity for outstanding stock options for the nine months ended September 30, 2007:
| Options Outstanding | |||||||||||
| Number of Shares |
Weighted- Average Exercise Price |
Weighted- Average Remaining Contractual Term (in years) |
Aggregate (in millions) (1) |
||||||||
| (unaudited) | |||||||||||
|
Balance at December 31, 2006 |
13,424,872 | $ | 205.58 | ||||||||
|
Granted |
1,175,964 | $ | 489.42 | ||||||||
|
Exercised/vested (2) |
(2,653,815 | ) | $ | 48.58 | |||||||
|
Canceled/forfeited |
(284,104 | ) | $ | 233.13 | |||||||
|
Balance at September 30, 2007 |
11,662,917 | $ | 261.89 | 7.4 | $ | 3,396.7 | |||||
|
Vested and exercisable as of September 30, 2007 |
3,943,796 | $ | 163.99 | 7.0 | $ | 1,590.5 | |||||
|
Vested and exercisable as of September 30, 2007 and expected to vest thereafter (3) |
11,225,243 | $ | 259.85 | 7.4 | $ | 3,294.3 | |||||
| (1) | The aggregate intrinsic value is calculated as the difference between the exercise price of the underlying awards and the closing stock price of $567.27 of our Class A common stock on September 28, 2007, the last trading day closest to our period end date of September 30, 2007. |
14
| (2) | The weighted-average exercise price does not take into account early exercised options that vested during the nine months ended September 30, 2007. The aggregate intrinsic value of all options exercised during the period was $823.7 million. |
| (3) | Options expected to vest reflect an estimated forfeiture rate. |
The following table summarizes additional information regarding outstanding, exercisable and exercisable and vested stock options at September 30, 2007:
| Options Outstanding | Options Exercisable | Options Exercisable and Vested |
|||||||||||||||||||
|
Range of Exercise Prices |
Total Number of Shares |
Unvested 2002 |
Number of Shares |
Weighted- Average Remaining Life (Years) |
Weighted Average Exercise Price |
Number of Shares |
Weighted Average Exercise Price |
Number of Shares |
Weighted Average Exercise Price |
||||||||||||
|
$ 0.30–$ 85.00 |
3,457,236 | 540,406 | 2,916,830 | 6.0 | $ | 17.76 | 2,852,304 | $ | 17.50 | 1,629,301 | $ | 14.09 | |||||||||
|
$117.84–$198.41 |
1,727,088 | — | 1,727,088 | 6.6 | $ | 176.39 | 793,635 | $ | 175.26 | 794,091 | $ | 175.27 | |||||||||
|
$205.96–$298.91 |
1,410,881 | — | 1,410,881 | 7.2 | $ | 274.56 | 600,492 | $ | 274.62 | 600,312 | $ | 274.62 | |||||||||
|
$300.97–$399.00 |
1,835,116 | — | 1,835,116 | 7.6 | $ | 329.35 | 717,549 | $ | 326.21 | 717,164 | $ | 326.19 | |||||||||
|
$401.78–$499.07 |
1,483,783 | — | 1,483,783 | 8.9 | $ | 449.77 | 200,776 | $ | 421.95 | 200,596 | $ | 421.96 | |||||||||
|
$501.50–$568.16 |
1,748,813 | — | 1,748,813 | 9.3 | $ | 513.13 | 2,334 | $ | 508.74 | 2,332 | $ | 508.74 | |||||||||
|
$ 0.30–$568.16 |
11,662,917 | 540,406 | 11,122,511 | 7.4 | $ | 261.89 | 5,167,090 | $ | 130.42 | 3,943,796 | $ | 163.99 | |||||||||
Options outstanding at September 30, 2007 in the above tables include 540,406 options granted and exercised subsequent to March 21, 2002 that are unvested at September 30, 2007, in accordance with EITF Issue No. 00-23, Issues Related to Accounting for Stock Compensation Under APB Opinion No. 25 and FASB Interpretation No. 44 (EITF 00-23). However, the computations of the weighted-average exercise prices, weighted average remaining life and aggregate intrinsic value for all stock options outstanding in the above table do not take into account these unvested shares. Further, the above tables include 539,927 warrants held by financial institutions that were options purchased from employees under our transferable stock options (TSO) program.
The total grant date fair value of stock options vested (including the related incremental fair value resulting from the adoption of our TSO program – see discussion below) during the nine months ended September 30, 2007 was $441.0 million.
In April 2007, we launched our TSO program. Under the TSO program, certain employees are able to sell vested options granted after our initial public offering under our 2004 Stock Plan to selected financial institutions in an online auction. All employees may participate in the program other than our executive management group and those who reside in countries where, due to local, legal and/or tax implications, it would not be beneficial to employees or the TSO program would be impractical. At the time of sale, the vested option is automatically amended to create a warrant that is exercisable by the financial institution within two years from the date of issuance. All eligible outstanding options were modified in the second quarter of 2007 to allow them to be sold under the TSO program and, as a result, we incurred a modification charge of $62.0 million and $16.0 million in the second and third quarters of 2007 related to vested options and expect to incur an additional charge of approximately $150 million related to unvested options over their remaining vesting periods through the second quarter of 2011. The modification charge is equal to the difference between the values of those modified stock options on the date of modification and their values immediately prior to modification in accordance with SFAS No. 123 (revised 2004), Share-Based Payment. Further, to the extent the forfeiture rate is different from what we have anticipated, the modification charge related to the unvested awards will be different from our expectations. The fair value of each option granted under the TSO program will be greater than it would have been otherwise because of a longer expected life, resulting in more stock-based compensation per option.
During the nine months ended September 30, 2007, the number of shares underlying TSOs sold to selected financial institutions under the TSO program was 539,927 at a total value of $143.7 million, or $266.23 per share, and a weighted average premium of $30.63 per share. The premium is calculated as the difference between (a) the sale price of the TSO and (b) the intrinsic value of the TSO, which we define as the excess, if any, of the price of our Class A common stock at the time of the sale over the exercise price of the TSO. At September 30, 2007, the number of shares underlying TSOs held by financial institutions was 539,927 and the number of options eligible for participation under the TSO program was 7,165,702.
15
As of September 30, 2007, there was $832.6 million of unrecognized compensation cost related to employee outstanding stock options, including the portion of the modification charge related to the adoption of the TSO program expected to be recognized in the future, net of forecasted forfeitures. This amount is expected to be recognized over a weighted average period of 2.2 years. To the extent the forfeiture rate is different from what we have anticipated, stock-based compensation related to these awards will be different from our expectations.
The following table summarizes the activity for our unvested restricted stock units and restricted shares for the nine months ended September 30, 2007:
| Unvested Restricted
Stock Units and Restricted Shares |
||||||
| Number of Shares |
Weighted-Average Grant-Date Fair Value |
|||||
| (unaudited) | ||||||
|
Unvested at December 31, 2006 |
1,771,037 | $ | 369.54 | |||
|
Granted |
697,137 | $ | 491.18 | |||
|
Vested |
(434,345 | ) | $ | 350.30 | ||
|
Forfeited |
(60,965 | ) | $ | 362.64 | ||
|
Unvested at September 30, 2007 |
1,972,864 | $ | 417.62 | |||
|
Expected to vest after September 30, 2007(1) |
1,861,003 | $ | 417.62 | |||
| (1) | Restricted stock units and restricted shares expected to vest reflect an estimated forfeiture rate. |
As of September 30, 2007, there was $654.4 million of unrecognized compensation cost related to unvested restricted stock units and restricted shares, net of forecasted forfeitures. This amount is expected to be recognized over a weighted average period of 2.9 years. To the extent the actual forfeiture rate is different from what we have anticipated, stock-based compensation related to these awards will be different from our expectations.
Note 11. Income Taxes
Effective January 1, 2007, we adopted the provisions of Financial Standards Accounting Board Interpretation No. 48, Accounting for Uncertainty in Income Taxes (FIN 48). This Interpretation clarifies the accounting for uncertainty in income taxes recognized in an enterprise’s financial statements in accordance with SFAS No. 109 and prescribes a recognition threshold of more-likely-than-not to be sustained upon examination. As a result of the implementation of FIN 48, we recognized a $7.1 million increase in the liability for unrecognized tax benefits related to tax positions taken in prior periods. This increase was accounted for as an adjustment to retained earnings in accordance with the provisions of the statement. Additionally, we reclassified $219.4 million from current taxes payable to long-term taxes payable.
Upon adoption of FIN 48, our policy to include interest and penalties related to gross unrecognized tax benefits within our provision for income taxes did not change. As of September 30, 2007, we had accrued $18.7 million for payment of such interest and penalties. Interest and penalties included in our provision for income taxes were not material in all the periods presented.
Our total unrecognized tax benefits as of January 1, 2007 (the date of adoption) and September 30, 2007 was $243.6 million and $348.5 million. Also, our total unrecognized tax benefits that, if recognized, would affect our effective tax rate were $195.7 million and $247.9 million as of January 1, 2007 and September 30, 2007.
Although we file U.S. federal, U.S. state, and foreign tax returns, our two major tax jurisdictions are the U.S. and Ireland. Our 2003 through 2006 tax years remain subject to examination by the IRS for U.S. federal tax purposes, and our 2002 through 2006 tax years remain subject to examination by the appropriate governmental agencies for Irish tax purposes. Currently, we are under examination by the IRS for our 2003 and 2004 tax years.
Note 12. Information about Geographic Areas
Our chief operating decision-makers (i.e., our chief executive officer, his direct reports and our presidents) review financial information presented on a consolidated basis, accompanied by disaggregated information about revenues by geographic region for purposes of allocating resources and evaluating financial performance. There are no segment managers
16
who are held accountable by our chief operating decision-makers, or anyone else, for operations, operating results and planning for levels or components below the consolidated unit level. Accordingly, we consider ourselves to be in a single reporting segment and operating unit structure.
Revenues by geography are based on the billing addresses of the advertisers. The following table sets forth revenues and long-lived assets by geographic area (in thousands):
| Three Months Ended | Nine Months Ended | ||||||||||||||
| September 30, 2006 |
June 30, 2007 |
September 30, 2007 |
September 30, 2006 |
September 30, 2007 |
|||||||||||
| (unaudited) | |||||||||||||||
|
Revenues: |
|||||||||||||||
|
United States |
$ | 1,506,805 | $ | 2,027,942 | $ | 2,205,809 | $ | 4,245,352 | $ | 6,192,133 | |||||
|
United Kingdom |
422,494 | 599,514 | 661,016 | 1,135,314 | 1,838,889 | ||||||||||
|
Rest of the world |
760,374 | 1,244,529 | 1,364,526 | 2,018,753 | 3,736,285 | ||||||||||
|
Total revenues |
$ | 2,689,673 | $ | 3,871,985 | $ | 4,231,351 | $ | 7,399,419 | $ | 11,767,307 | |||||
| As of December 31, 2006 |
As of September 30, 2007 |
|||||
| (unaudited) | ||||||
|
Long-lived assets: |
||||||
|
United States |
$ | 5,070,694 | $ | 7,078,639 | ||
|
International |
362,810 | 528,250 | ||||
|
Total long-lived assets |
$ | 5,433,504 | $ | 7,606,889 | ||
17
| ITEM 2. | MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS |
In addition to historical information, this report contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These statements include, among other things, statements concerning our expectations:
| • |
regarding the growth and growth rate of our operations, business, revenues, costs and expenses; |
| • |
that seasonal fluctuations in internet usage and traditional advertising seasonality are likely to affect our business; |
| • |
that growth in advertising revenues from our web sites will continue to exceed that from our Google Network members’ web sites; |
| • |
that our operating margin may decrease as we invest in our employees, systems infrastructures and property and equipment; |
| • |
regarding our future stock-based compensation charges including charges related to our TSO program; |
| • |
that we will continue to pay most of the Google AdSense fees we receive from advertisers to our Google Network members; |
| • |
regarding our future fee structure for our Google Checkout product offering; |
| • |
that we will continue to make significant capital expenditure investments; |
| • |
that the growth rate of our costs and expenses may exceed the growth rate of our revenues; |
| • |
that our cost of revenues will increase in dollars and as a percentage of revenues; |
| • |
that traffic acquisition costs may increase as a percentage of revenues; |
| • |
that research and development, sales and marketing and general and administrative expenses will increase in the future; |
| • |
regarding quarterly fluctuations in paid clicks; |
| • |
that we will likely participate in the federal government’s upcoming auction of wireless spectrum; |
| • |
that we will continue to make investments and acquisitions; |
| • |
regarding the sufficiency of our existing cash, cash equivalents, marketable securities and cash generated from operations; |
| • |
regarding continued investments in international markets; |
as well as other statements regarding our future operations, financial condition and prospects and business strategies. These forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those reflected in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, those discussed in this report, and in particular, the risks discussed under the heading “Risk Factors” in Part I, Item 1A of this report and those discussed in other documents we file with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We undertake no obligation to revise or publicly release the results of any revision to these forward-looking statements. Given these risks and uncertainties, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements.
The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read together with our Consolidated Financial Statements and related notes included elsewhere in this report.
Overview
Google is a global technology leader focused on improving the ways people connect with information. Our innovations in web search and advertising have made our web site a top internet destination and our brand one of the most recognized in the world. Our mission is to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful. We serve three primary constituencies:
| • |
Users. We provide users with products and services that enable people to more quickly and easily find, create and organize information that is useful to them. |
18
| • |
Advertisers. We provide advertisers with several ways to deliver relevant targeted advertising including: |
| • |
Google AdWords, an auction-based advertising program that enables advertisers to deliver relevant ads targeted to search results or web content. |
| • |
Google Audio Ads, an automated online media platform that schedules and places advertising into radio programs. |
| • |
Google Print Ads, a web-based marketplace for placing ads in print media. |
| • |
Google TV Ads, an automated online media platform that schedules and places advertising into TV programs. |
| • |
Google Video Ads, user-initiated click-to-play video ads that run on our web sites and the web sites of our Google Network members. |
These advertising programs provide advertisers with a cost-effective way to deliver ads to customers across Google sites and through the Google Network, which is the network of online and offline third parties that use our advertising programs to deliver relevant ads with the content they provide.
| • |
Content Providers. We provide the online and offline members of our Google Network with our Google AdSense programs. This includes programs through which we distribute our advertisers’ AdWords ads for display on the web sites of our Google Network members as well as programs to deliver audio ads on radio broadcasts, print ads for display in newspapers and magazines and ads on television. We share most of the fees these ads generate with our Google Network members, thereby creating an important revenue stream for them. In addition, we have entered into arrangements with certain content providers under which we distribute or license their video and other content and we may display ads on the pages of our web sites next to or as part of this content. We share most of the fees these ads generate with these content providers. |
How We Generate Revenue
We derive most of our revenues from fees we receive from our advertisers through our AdWords and AdSense programs.
Google AdWords is our automated online program that enables advertisers to place targeted text-based and display ads on our web sites and the web sites of our Google Network members. Most of our AdWords customers pay us on a cost-per-click basis, which means that an advertiser pays us only when a user clicks on one of its ads. We also offer AdWords on a cost-per-impression basis that enables advertisers to pay us based on the number of times their ads appear on Google Network members’ sites specified by the advertiser. For advertisers using our AdWords cost-per-click pricing, we recognize as revenue the fees charged advertisers each time a user clicks on one of the ads that appears next to the search results on our web sites or next to the search results or content on Google Network members’ sites. For advertisers using our AdWords cost-per-impression pricing, we recognize as revenue the fees charged advertisers each time their ads are displayed on the Google Network members’ sites. Our AdWords agreements are generally terminable at any time by our advertisers.
Google AdSense is the program through which we distribute our advertisers’ AdWords ads for display on the web sites of our Google Network members. Our AdSense program includes AdSense for search and AdSense for content. AdSense for search is our service for distributing relevant ads from our advertisers for display with search results on our Google Network members’ sites. To use AdSense for search, most of our AdSense for search partners add Google search functionality to their web pages in the form of customizable Google search boxes. When visitors of these web sites search either the web site or the internet using these customizable search boxes, we display relevant ads on the search results pages, targeted to match user search queries. Ads shown through AdSense for search are generally text ads.
AdSense for content is our service for distributing ads from our advertisers that are relevant to content on our Google Network members’ sites. Under this program, we use automated technology to analyze the meaning of the content on the web site and serve relevant ads based on the meaning of such content. For example, a web page on an automotive blog that contains an entry about vintage cars might display ads for vintage car parts or vintage car shows. These ads are displayed in spaces that our AdSense for content partners have set aside on their web sites for our AdWords content. AdSense for content allows a variety of ad types to be shown, including text ads, image ads, Google Video Ads, link units (which are sets of clickable links to topic pages related to page content), themed units (which are regular text ads with graphic treatments that change seasonally and by geography) and gadget ads (which are customized “mini-sites” that run as ads on AdSense publisher websites).
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For our AdSense program, our advertisers pay us a fee each time a user clicks on one of our advertisers’ ads displayed on Google Network members’ web sites or, for those advertisers who choose our cost-per-impression pricing, as their ads are displayed. To date, we have paid most of these advertiser fees to the members of the Google Network, and we expect to continue doing so for the foreseeable future. We recognize these advertiser fees as revenue and the portion of the advertiser fee we pay to our Google Network members as traffic acquisition costs under cost of revenues. In some cases, we guarantee our Google Network members minimum revenue share payments. Members of the Google Network do not pay any fees associated with the use of our AdSense program on their web sites.
Our agreements with Google Network members consist largely of uniform online “click-wrap” agreements that members enter into by interacting with our registration web sites. The standard agreements have no stated term and are terminable at will. Agreements with our larger members are individually negotiated. Both the standard agreements and the negotiated agreements contain provisions requiring us to share with the Google Network member most of the advertiser fees generated by users clicking on ads on the Google Network member’s web site or, for advertisers who choose our cost-per-impression pricing, as the ads are displayed on the Google Network member’s web site.
In the third quarter of 2005, we launched our Google Print Ads program through which we distribute our advertisers’ ads for publication in print media. We recognize as revenue the fees charged advertisers when their ads are published in print media. Also, in the first quarter of 2006, we acquired dMarc Broadcasting, Inc. (dMarc), a digital solutions provider for the radio broadcast industry and launched our Google Audio Ads program, which distributes our advertisers’ ads for broadcast in radio programs. We recognize as revenue the fees charged advertisers each time an ad is broadcasted or a listener responds to that ad. We consider the magazines and radio stations that participate in these programs to be members of our Google Network.
Advertising revenues made up 99% of our revenues in the three and nine months ended September 30, 2006 and 2007. We derive the balance of our revenues from the license of our web search technology, the license of our search solutions to enterprises and the sale and license of other products and services.
In the second quarter of 2006, we launched Google Checkout, an online shopping payment processing system for both consumers and merchants. We offer the Google Checkout service to merchants at no charge for sales up to ten times the amount they spend on AdWords advertising per month. We have also announced that we do not plan to charge merchants any fees associated with the use of Google Checkout for 2007. Beginning January 1, 2008, we plan to charge merchants who use Google Checkout to process sales 2% of the transaction amount plus $0.20 per transaction to the extent the dollar value of the total fees to be charged to such merchant in a month exceeds ten times the amount they spend on AdWords advertising in that month. We will recognize as revenue any fees charged merchants on transactions processed through Google Checkout. Further, cash ultimately paid to merchants under Google Checkout promotions, including cash paid to merchants as a result of discounts provided to consumers on certain transactions processed through Google Checkout, is accounted for as an offset to revenues.
In the fourth quarter of 2006, we acquired YouTube, a consumer media company for people to watch and share videos worldwide through the web. We recognize as revenue the fees charged advertisers each time an ad is displayed on the YouTube site.
In the second quarter of 2007, we announced our trial to deliver Google TV ads to viewers and help advertisers, operators and programmers buy, schedule, deliver and measure ads on television. We recognize as revenue the fees charged advertisers each time an ad is displayed on TV in accordance with the terms of the related agreements. We consider the TV providers that participate in this program to be members of our Google Network.
In the third quarter of 2007, we acquired Postini, a provider of electronic communications security, compliance, and productivity software. We recognize as revenue the fees we charge customers for hosting enterprise applications and services ratably over the term of the service arrangement.
We believe the factors that influence the success of our advertising programs include the following:
| • |
The relevance, objectivity and quality of our search results. |
| • |
The number and type of searches initiated at our web sites. |
| • |
The number and type of searches initiated at, as well as the number of visits to and the content of, our Google Network members’ web sites. |
| • |
The advertisers’ return on investment (ad cost per sale or cost per conversion) from advertising campaigns on our web sites or our Google Network members’ web sites or other media compared to other forms of advertising. |
| • |
The number of advertisers and the breadth of items advertised. |
| • |
The total and per click or per impression advertising spending budgets of each advertiser. |
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| • |
The monetization of (or generation of revenue from) traffic on our web sites and our Google Network members’ web sites. |
We believe that the monetization of traffic on our web sites, and our Google Network members’ web sites is affected by the following factors:
| • |
The relevance and quality of ads displayed with each search results page on our web sites and our Google Network members’ web sites, as well as with each content page on our Google Network members’ web sites, including the relevance and quality of an ad’s “landing page” or page a user views after an ad is clicked. |
| • |
The number and prominence of ads displayed with each search results page on our web sites and our Google Network members’ web sites, as well as with each content page on our Google Network members’ web sites. |
| • |
The rate at which our users and users of our Google Network members’ web sites click on advertisements. |
| • |
Our minimum fee per click. |
Trends in Our Business
Our business has grown rapidly since inception, resulting in substantially increased revenues, and we expect that our business will continue to grow. However, our revenue growth rate has generally declined over time, and we expect it will continue to do so as a result of increasing competition and the difficulty of maintaining growth rates as our revenues increase to higher levels. In addition, the main focus of our advertising programs is to provide relevant and useful advertising to our users, reflecting our commitment to constantly improve their overall web experience. As a result, we may continue to take steps to improve the relevance of the ads displayed on our web sites. These steps include removing ads that generate low click-through rates or that send users to irrelevant or otherwise low quality sites and terminating Google Network members whose web sites do not meet our quality requirements. These steps could negatively affect our near-term advertising revenues.
Both seasonal fluctuations in internet usage and traditional retail seasonality have affected, and are likely to continue to affect, our business. Internet usage generally slows during the summer months, and commercial queries typically increase significantly in the fourth quarter of each year. These seasonal trends have caused and will likely continue to cause, fluctuations in our quarterly results, including fluctuations in sequential revenue and paid click growth rates.
From the inception of the Google Network in 2002 through the first quarter of 2004, the growth in advertising revenues from our Google Network members’ web sites exceeded that from our web sites, which had a negative impact on our operating margins. The operating margin we realize on revenues generated from ads placed on our Google Network members’ web sites through our AdSense program is significantly lower than the operating margin we realize from revenues generated from ads placed on our web sites because most of the advertiser fees from ads served on Google Network member web sites are shared with our Google Network members. However, beginning in the second quarter of 2004, growth in advertising revenues from our web sites has exceeded that from our Google Network members’ web sites. This trend has had a positive impact on our operating margins, and we expect that this will continue for the foreseeable future, although the relative rate of growth in revenues from our web sites compared to the rate of growth in revenues from our Google Network members’ web sites may vary over time.
We are heavily investing in building the necessary employee and systems infrastructures required to manage our growth and develop and promote our products and services, and this may cause our operating margins to decrease. We have experienced and expect to continue to experience substantial growth in our operations as we build our research and development programs, expand our base of users, advertisers and Google Network members and increase our presence in international markets. In addition, we are incurring significant costs and expenses to support our Google Checkout product and promote its adoption by merchants and consumers, as well as promote the distribution of certain other products, including the Google Toolbar. Our headcount growth has required us to make substantial investments in property and equipment. Our full-time employee headcount has significantly increased over the last 12 months, growing from 9,378 at September 30, 2006 to 15,916 at September 30, 2007, and we also employ a significant number of temporary employees. We also expect to continue to make significant capital expenditure investments, including information and technology infrastructure and corporate facilities. In April 2007, we launched our employee transferable stock option (TSO) program. We modified employee options to allow them to participate in this program, and as a result we incurred a charge of $62.0 million and $16.0 million in the second and third quarters of 2007 related to vested options, and we expect to incur an additional charge of approximately $150.0 million related to unvested options over their remaining vesting periods through the second quarter of 2011. In addition, the fair value of each option granted under the TSO program will be greater than it would have been otherwise because of a longer expected life, resulting in more stock-based compensation per option. As a result of all of the above, the growth rate of our costs and expenses may exceed the growth rate of our revenues.
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We expect our cost of revenues to continue to increase in dollars and may increase as a percentage of revenues in 2007 and in future periods, primarily as a result of forecasted increases in traffic acquisition costs, data center costs and credit card and other transaction fees, including transaction processing fees related to Google Checkout, as well as content acquisition costs. In particular, traffic acquisition costs as a percentage of advertising revenues may increase in the future if we are unable to continue to improve the monetization of traffic on our web sites and our Google Network members’ web sites, particularly with those members to whom we have guaranteed minimum revenue share or other payments.
Our international revenues have grown as a percentage of our total revenues to 48% and 47% in the three and nine months ended September 30, 2007, from 44% and 43% in the three and nine months ended September 30, 2006. This increase in the portion of our revenues derived from international markets results largely from increased acceptance of our advertising programs, increases in our direct sales resources and customer support operations and our continued progress in developing localized versions of our products in these international markets.
Results of Operations
The following is a more detailed discussion of our financial condition and results of operations for the periods presented.
The following table presents our historical operating results as a percentage of revenues for the periods indicated (unaudited):
| Three Months Ended | Nine Months Ended | ||||||||||||||
| September 30, 2006 |
June 30, 2007 |
September 30, 2007 |
September 30, 2006 |
September 30, 2007 |
|||||||||||
|
Consolidated Statements of Income Data: |
|||||||||||||||
|
Revenues |
100.0 | % | 100.0 | % | 100.0 | % | 100.0 | % | 100.0 | % | |||||
|
Costs and expenses: |
|||||||||||||||
|
Cost of revenues |
39.0 | 40.3 | 39.3 | 39.8 | 39.9 | ||||||||||
|
Research and development |
11.6 | 13.7 | 13.0 | 11.4 | 12.7 | ||||||||||
|
Sales and marketing |
7.7 | 9.2 | 9.0 | 8.0 | 8.8 | ||||||||||
|
General and administrative |
7.0 | 8.2 | 7.6 | 7.2 | 7.7 | ||||||||||
|
Total costs and expenses |
65.3 | 71.4 | 68.9 | 66.4 | 69.1 | ||||||||||
|
Income from operations |
34.7 | 28.6 | 31.1 | 33.6 | 30.9 | ||||||||||
|
Interest income and other, net |
4.0 | 3.5 | 3.6 | 4.6 | 3.7 | ||||||||||
|
Income before income taxes |
38.7 | 32.1 | 34.7 | 38.2 | 34.6 | ||||||||||
|
Provision for income taxes |
11.4 | 8.2 | 9.5 | 10.5 | 9.1 | ||||||||||
|
Net income |
27.3 | % | 23.9 | % | 25.2 | % | 27.7 | % | 25.5 | % | |||||
Revenues
The following table presents our revenues, by revenue source, for the periods presented (in millions, unaudited):
| Three Months Ended | Nine Months Ended | ||||||||||||||
| September 30, 2006 |
June 30, 2007 |
September 30, 2007 |
September 30, 2006 |
September 30, 2007 |
|||||||||||
|
Advertising revenues: |
|||||||||||||||
|
Google web sites |
$ | 1,626.0 | $ | 2,486.3 | $ | 2,734.8 | $ | 4,355.7 | $ | 7,503.2 | |||||
|
Google Network web sites |
1,037.0 | 1,352.1 | 1,454.7 | 2,962.0 | 4,152.1 | ||||||||||
|
Total advertising revenues |
2,663.0 | 3,838.4 | 4,189.5 | 7,317.7 | 11,655.3 | ||||||||||
|
Licensing and other revenues |
26.7 | 33.6 | 41.9 | 81.7 | 112.0 | ||||||||||
|
Revenues |
$ | 2,689.7 | $ | 3,872.0 | $ | 4,231.4 | $ | 7,399.4 | $ | 11,767.3 | |||||
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The following table presents our revenues, by revenue source, as a percentage of total revenues for the periods presented (unaudited):
| Three Months Ended | Nine Months Ended | ||||||||||||||
| September 30, 2006 |
June 30, 2007 |
September 30, 2007 |
September 30, 2006 |
September 30, 2007 |
|||||||||||
|
Advertising revenues: |
|||||||||||||||
|
Google web sites |
60 | % | 64 | % | 65 | % | 59 | % | 64 | % | |||||
|
Google Network web sites |
39 | 35 | 34 | 40 | 35 | ||||||||||
|
Total advertising revenues |
99 | 99 | 99 | 99 | 99 | ||||||||||
|
Google web sites as % of advertising revenues |
61 | 65 | 65 | 60 | 64 | ||||||||||
|
Google Network web sites as % of advertising revenues |
39 | 35 | 35 | 40 | 36 | ||||||||||
|
Licensing and other revenues |
1 | % | 1 | % | 1 | % | 1 | % | 1 | % | |||||
Growth in our revenues in the three months ended September 30, 2007 compared to the three months ended June 30, 2007 resulted primarily from growth in advertising revenues for Google web sites, and to a lesser extent, Google Network web sites. Our advertising revenue growth for Google web sites and Google Network web sites resulted primarily from an increase in the total number of paid clicks and ads displayed through our programs, rather than from changes in the average fees paid by our advertisers. The increase in the number of paid clicks and ads displayed through our programs was due to certain monetization improvements, an increase in aggregate traffic both on our web sites and those of our Google Network members, and the continued global expansion of our products, our advertiser base and our user base, as well as an increase in the number of Google Network members and distribution partners. Improvements in our ability to monetize this increased traffic primarily relate to enhancing the end user experience, including providing end users with ads that are more relevant to their search queries or to the content on the Google Network members’ sites they visit. These improvements included, for instance, a change in the background color from blue to yellow for certain ads displayed on our search results pages (a change implemented during the second quarter of 2007), a change to the formula used to determine which ads appear at the top of our search results pages, as well as a change to consider not only a user’s current search query, but also their immediately preceding query, to determine the ads displayed on our search results pages.
Growth in our revenues in the three months ended September 30, 2007 compared to the three months ended September 30, 2006, and growth in our revenues in the nine months ended September 30, 2007 compared to the nine months ended September 30, 2006, resulted primarily from growth in advertising revenues for Google web sites and Google Network web sites. Our advertising revenue growth for Google web sites and Google Network web sites resulted primarily from increases in the total number of paid clicks and ads displayed through our programs, rather than from changes in the average fees paid by our advertisers. The increase in the number of paid clicks and ads displayed through our programs was due to an increase in aggregate traffic on both our web sites and those of our Google Network members, certain improvements in the monetization of increased traffic on our web sites and our Google Network member sites, the continued global expansion of our products, our advertiser base and our user base, and an increase in the number of Google Network members and distribution partners. Improvements in our ability to monetize this increased traffic primarily relate to enhancing the end-user experience, including providing end-users with ads that are more relevant to their search queries or to the content on the Google Network members’ sites they visit. These improvements also included the improvements discussed above.
Our sequential quarterly revenue growth rate increased from 5.7% for the three months ended June 30, 2007, to 9.3% for the three months ended September 30, 2007.
The sequential quarterly revenue growth rate from Google web sites increased from 8.9% for the three months ended June 30, 2007, to 10.0% for the three months ended September 30, 2007. The sequential quarterly revenue growth rate from our Google Network members’ web sites increased from relatively flat for the three months ended June 30, 2007, to 7.6% for the three months ended September 30, 2007. These increases in the sequential quarterly revenue growth rates are primarily due to the continued global expansion of our products, our advertiser base and our user base as well as improvements in our ability to monetize traffic on our web sites. The sequential quarterly revenue growth from our web sites was greater than that from our Google Network members’ web sites primarily as a result of a greater increase in the total number of paid clicks on our web sites, which was largely due to monetization improvements and higher traffic growth. We expect that our revenue growth rates will generally decline in the future as a result of increasing competition and the difficulty of maintaining growth rates as our revenues increase to higher levels.
Aggregate paid clicks on our web sites and our Google Network members’ web sites increased approximately 5% from the three months ended June 30, 2007 to the three months ended September 30, 2007, and increased approximately 45% from the three months ended September 30, 2006 to the three months ended September 30, 2007. In general, the increase in paid clicks has historically correlated with increases in our revenues. However, the rate of increase in paid clicks, and its correlation with the rate of increase in revenues, may fluctuate from quarter to quarter based on various factors including
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seasonality, advertiser competition for keywords and the revenue growth rates on our web sites compared to those of our Google Network members. In addition, traffic growth in emerging markets compared to more mature markets and across various advertising verticals also contributes to these fluctuations.
We believe that the increase in the number of paid clicks and ads displayed through our programs is substantially the result of our commitment to improving the relevance and quality of both our search results and the advertisements displayed, which we believe results in a better user experience, which in turn results in more searches, advertisers, and Google Network members and other partners. Revenues realized through the Google Print Ads Program, Google Audio Ads, Google TV Ads, Google Checkout, YouTube and Postini were not material in any of the periods presented.
Revenues by Geography
Domestic and international revenues as a percentage of consolidated revenues, determined based on the billing addresses of our advertisers, are set forth below (unaudited):
| Three Months Ended | Nine Months Ended | ||||||||||||||
| September 30, 2006 |
June 30, 2007 |
September 30, 2007 |
September 30, 2006 |
September 30, 2007 |
|||||||||||
| (unaudited) | |||||||||||||||
|
United States |
56 | % | 52 | % | 52 | % | 57 | % | 53 | % | |||||
|
United Kingdom |
16 | % | 15 | % | 16 | % | 15 | % | 16 | % | |||||
|
Rest of the world |
28 | % | 33 | % | 32 | % | 28 | % | 31 | % | |||||
The growth in international revenues in the three and nine months ended September 30, 2007 compared to the three and nine months ended September 30, 2006 resulted largely from increased acceptance of our advertising programs, increases in our direct sales resources and customer support operations in international markets and our continued progress in developing localized versions of our products for these international markets.
In addition, the weakening of the U.S. dollar relative to other foreign currencies (primarily the euro and the British pound) in the three months ended September 30, 2007, compared to the three months ended June 30, 2007 had a favorable impact on our international revenues, which increased $181.5 million period over period. Had foreign exchange rates remained constant in these periods, our revenues would have been approximately $24.2 million or 0.6% lower. The weakening of the U.S. dollar relative to other foreign currencies (primarily the euro and the British pound) in the three months ended September 30, 2007 compared to the three months ended September 30, 2006 had a favorable impact on our international revenues, which increased $842.7 million period over period. Had foreign exchange rates remained constant in these periods, our revenues would have been approximately $121.0 million or 2.9% lower.
While international revenues in each of the periods presented accounted for less than half of our total revenues, more than half of our user traffic during these periods came from outside the U.S. Although we expect to continue to make investments in international markets, they may not result in an increase in our international revenues as a percentage of total revenues in 2007 or thereafter. See Note 12 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included as part of this Form 10-Q for additional information about geographic areas.
Costs and Expenses
Cost of Revenues.
Cost of revenues consists primarily of traffic acquisition costs. Traffic acquisition costs consist of amounts ultimately paid to our Google Network members under AdSense arrangements and to certain other partners (our “distribution partners”) who distribute our toolbar and other products (collectively referred to as “access points”) or otherwise direct search queries to our web site (collectively referred to as “distribution arrangements”). These amounts are primarily based on the revenue share arrangements with our Google Network members and distribution partners. Certain distribution arrangements require us to pay our partners based on a fee per access point delivered and not exclusively—or at all—based on revenue share. We recognize fees under these arrangements over the estimated useful lives of the access points (two years) to the extent we can reasonably estimate those lives or based on any contractual revenue share, if greater. Otherwise, the fees are charged to expense as incurred.
In addition, certain AdSense agreements obligate us to make guaranteed minimum revenue share payments to Google Network members based on their achieving defined performance terms, such as number of search queries or advertisements displayed. To the extent we expect revenues generated under such an arrangement to exceed the guaranteed minimum
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revenue share payments, we recognize traffic acquisition costs on a contractual revenue share basis or on a basis proportionate to forecasted revenues, whichever is greater. Otherwise, we recognize the guaranteed revenue share payments as traffic acquisition costs on a straight-line basis over the term of the related agreements. In addition, concurrent with the commencement of a small number of AdSense and other agreements, we have purchased certain items from, or provided other consideration to, our Google Network members and partners. We have determined that certain of these amounts are prepaid traffic acquisition costs and are amortized on a straight-line basis over the terms of the related agreements.
Cost of revenues also includes the expenses associated with the operation of our data centers, including depreciation, labor, energy and bandwidth costs, credit card and other transaction fees related to processing customer transactions as well as content acquisition costs. We have entered into arrangements with certain content providers under which we distribute or license their video and other content. In a few of these arrangements we display ads on the pages of our web sites from which the content is viewed and share most of the fees these ads generate with the content providers. We recognize these costs equal to the greater of the revenue share amount – if any – or on a straight-line basis over the terms of the related agreements. The following tables present our cost of revenues and cost of revenues as a percentage of revenues, and our traffic acquisition costs and traffic acquisition costs as a percentage of advertising revenues for the periods presented (dollars in millions, unaudited):
| Three Months Ended | Nine Months Ended | |||||||||||||||||||
| September 30, 2006 |
June 30, 2007 |
September 30, 2007 |
September 30, 2006 |
September 30, 2007 |
||||||||||||||||
| (unaudited) | ||||||||||||||||||||
|
Cost of revenues |
$ | 1,048.7 | $ | 1,560.3 | $ | 1,662.6 | $ | 2,941.9 | $ | 4,693.3 | ||||||||||
|
Cost of revenues as a percentage of revenues |
39.0 | % | 40.3 | % | 39.3 | % | 39.8 | % | 39.9 | % | ||||||||||
| Three Months Ended | Nine Months Ended | |||||||||||||||||||
| September 30, 2006 |
June 30, 2007 |
September 30, 2007 |
September 30, 2006 |
September 30, 2007 |
||||||||||||||||
| (unaudited) | ||||||||||||||||||||
|
Traffic acquisition costs |
$ | 825.3 | $ | 1,147.9 | $ | 1,221.1 | $ | 2,333.2 | $ | 3,494.1 | ||||||||||