Google Keeps On Trucking As The Rest Of The World Burns

The recession proof Google proved that well... it's recession proof! Even with the major downturn in essentially all the economies around the world Google managed to beat analysis estimates and actually grow year over year and quarter over quarter. They manged to make GAAP operating income for the fourth quarter of 2008 of $1.86 billion! That is nothing to sneeze at when a lot of other companies are reporting losses. They also have 15.85 billion in cash, cash equivalents, and short-term marketable securities as of December 31, 2008. Not too bad either... Here are the other highlights from the quarter...

• Revenue growth of 18% Y/Y and 3% Q/Q
– Google properties revenue growth of 22% Y/Y and 4% Q/Q
– Network revenues increased 4% Y/Y and 1% Q/Q
– International revenue was $2.9 billion
• Operational Highlights
– Traffic and revenue solid in Q4 despite difficult economic environment
– Key investments continue in our core search and ads businesses
– Increasing prioritization of our newer investments:

And my personal favorite the visual evidence of Google's growth...I don't have to tell you what to do... the numbers speak for themselves...

CECO Environmental Corp Reports Earnings

CECO Environmental Corp. (CECE) reported earnings results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2007 on March 10, 2008. For the quarter, the company reported net income of $1,818,000 or $0.12 per diluted share on net sales of $67,986,000 compared net income of $1,201,000 or $0.09 per diluted share on net sales of $41,498,000 to for the same period a year ago.

For the year, the company reported net income of $6,305,000 or $0.45 per diluted share on net sales of $235,953,000 compared net income of $3,094,000 or $0.24 per diluted share on net sales of $135,359,000 to for the same period a year ago.

Phillip DeZwirek, chairman and CEO, said in a news release that the company's gross profit margin fell slightly over the year because of a lower margin on a large automotive project.

"We anticipate that both gross and operating margins will increase in the future as the large project is completed and anticipated new higher-margin contracts are completed," he said in the release.

The order backlog at the end of 2007 was $85.5 million, compared to $97.1 million at the end of 2006, the company said in a news release.

DeZwirek figures the market for air pollution-control products has soared from $5 billion a couple of years ago to more than $50 billion now. The heightened attention to the environment is the driving force.

"They've really put together a full-service company that no one can compete against," said Bill Gregozeski, analyst at Capstone Investments in Milwaukee.

With the addition of Fisher-Klosterman, Inc. I think CECO Environmental Corp. (CECE) is still a great buy at these levels and will have a very successful 2008 even with a slowdown in the US economy. This site is all about long term investment after all and with a air-pollution controls market that is growing this fast CECO is certainly in the right spot.

Google Misses By A Penny, Does It Matter In The Long Term?

Well if you are a long term investor no, but the short term could be a little rough as people digest the numbers. First of all, let me just say that most companies would kill for these kind of numbers, but Google is not most companies.

Google (goog) reported revenues of $4.83 billion for the quarter ended December 31, 2007, representing a 51% increase over fourth quarter 2006 revenues of $3.21 billion and a 14% increase over third quarter 2007 revenues of $4.23 billion. Analysts were looking for $4.44 earnings per share and Google came in at $4.43, compared to $3.91 in the third quarter of 2007.

One very important number to look at is aggregate paid clicks, which include clicks related to ads served on Google sites and the sites of our AdSense partners, increased approximately 30% over the fourth quarter of 2006 and approximately 9% over the third quarter of 2007. This shows you that the core business of Google is still remarkable strong.

Google does not issue guidance so it is not too surprising that the analysts weren't right on. At any rate this stock has already been hammered the past month, and is continuing to get hammered in afterhours. It is trading at a major discount to just a month ago and after this earnings report it looks like it is going to create a great entry point. I know that I will be taking this opportunity to build to my position. Google is a global story, and as the world becomes more connected through the Internet Google will only continue this amazing growth...

For more information about Google stock check out this post.

Evergreen Solar Reports Surprise Profit

Evergreen solar (eslr) reported results for the fourth quarter 2007 this afternoon. The results surprised many who follow the stock. Analysis on average were looking for a loss of 4 cents per share. ESLR today reported a small profit of 1 cent per share.

Revenue in the fourth quarter was $22.2 million, which was also above Wall Street's average estimate of $20.2 million. The strength of EverQ accounted for $5.3 million of the company's revenue. Gross margins also improved to 28.1% compared to 24.9% for the third quarter of 2007.

Of course, here at Stock Picky we have been behind Evergreen solar since $9.60... The stock now stands at $12.33 after falling from as much as $18.85 after it announced a 10 year supply agreement for polysilicon. Things seem to be getting better and better for Evergreen Solar the company, and it will only take so long before the stock follows suit and begins to push higher.

Even here in the states Evergreen has teamed up for a four year project with the Massachusetts Municipal Wholesale Electric Co. and Governor Deval Patrick's Commonwealth Solar program to install photocoltaic systems on schools and other high-profile public buildings. This kind of free goodwill advertising is just what Evergreen needs to bring this company into the mainstream...

A big congratulations to all the longs out there on this profitable quarter. For more reasons to consider building a position in Evergreen Solar check out our original post for October!