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Google: We’re on Track to Make $1 Billion this Year from Android

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Google held a financial earnings conference call earlier today and threw out some interesting mobile-related stats to prove that their desktop search strategy isn’t the only thing poised to earn them some big bucks. According to Google’s  Jonathan Rosenberg, if you take all of last quarter’s earnings and extrapolate the trends over the next year, they could be looking at over $1 billion in revenue. It’s a far cry from the $10 billion goal they’ve set before, but it’s a good first step.

This doesn’t even take into account what they’ve earned from other platforms such as iOS, Windows Mobile, Symbian, and Blackberry. With Android growing as fast as it ever has, Google’s not going to want to slow down on their strategy. Many have been afraid of Google letting Android get so out of control to the point where they wouldn’t know what to do with it, but rest assured Google won’t let their next big money maker blow up in their face.

Google’s CEO Eric Schmidt had some words to throw in, as well, saying:

android-money“Android is much bigger than I could ever have hoped for. Android can become a hugely profitable business for us. Search on mobile will eventually exceed that of PCs … so, eventually, mobile will be a very, very strong revenue stream in comparison to PCs.”

So Android seems to be Google’s next baby, and – as Android handset users – we’re very happy to be a part of its success. 2011 will bring about some interesting changes for Android – both technically and in an economic sense – and we can’t wait to see this train really take off like we know it will. Go, Android, go!

[via CNN]

Quentyn Kennemer
The "Google Phone" sounded too awesome to pass up, so I bought a G1. The rest is history. And yes, I know my name isn't Wilson.

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20 Comments

  1. Android baby all they have to do it wotk better on the app market then they take over the world. More games… i cant wait tto see the future i hope its bright..

  2. How, when Android is supposedly a free platform? Something you’re not telling us Google?

  3. They earn money by using their ad serving services for applications,search and stuff.

  4. They would sell big (bigger) in enterprise — and earn more in whatever way they do — if they just supported a reasonable average business requirement, such as .ics in Calendar, that allows meeting organization (outside Google Calendar on line I mean). I have read at least one thousand identical request, let’s make this the 1001st

  5. Hell yes for Android!!

  6. I know companies need to make money but $1B seems a bit much…not sure if they are returning an equal amount of value back to their customers…personally I hate ads. Mind you…I would like to know how much of this revenue is from Android and how much is from other platforms.

  7. @android fan

    Google is a business, if they returned an equal amount back they would make no profit….they are not a charity. How much is too much anyway? Who decides this rule and why?

  8. You know what’s cooler than a million dollars? A billion dollars.

  9. The thing with google is they provide a free service unless you click on an ad and buy something. Plus they have to invest a lot to give better service. The thing we really need to know is not their profit but what is their profit margin?

  10. Sorry I just reread it. It is not profit but actual money they made. So I am sure their profit is much lower and their profit margin as probably around 10- 15%. Only organzition that does not need to make a profit it the goverment. But they are so far in debt you wish they would be private, since. We would of never got in this mess. All they care about is getting reelected or helping the people that got them elected. Whatever happened to helping the people. And stop thinking of just your selves but think of the country. If we think of what is best for the USA then everything will fall. Into place.

  11. @ Mark

    LOL

  12. DaveyBoy for president!

  13. If you haven’t bought Google stock yet, do it now! I bought a dozen shares 3 years ago and it’s split 4 times since than. This company and it’s stock are going nowhere but up. BUY!
    @ comment 6: who are you to say how much a company should or shouldn’t make? This is America and the skies the limit! I get so sick of hearing liberal minded people talk about how some people or companies make too much money and it’s not fair for the poor people or companies that don’t do as well. If you’re not happy with how much you’re earning, do something about it! I live in Florida where Cuban, Hatian, Columbian and a half a dozen other nationalities come to our country (legally mind you) each year with hardly a dime to their name and within a year or two have thriving businesses. You want to know why? Because they work hard and they know this country is truly the land of opportunity. Stop complaining because someone makes more than you. Its not your place to say how much they earn is too much. Thats ridiculous.
    Excellent comment #7! Thank you

  14. VOTE! VOTE! vote Daveyboy for PRSESIDENT!!!

  15. “It’s a far cry from the $10 billion goal they’ve set before, but it’s a good first step.”

    I’m sorry, but this is bad reporting. When did they set the $10 billion goal? Eric Schmidt said that Android may *eventually* be a $10 billion business. They never said we plan to make $10 billion on Android this year.

  16. @OJ

    Free?! Have you forgot about the first thing that you parents told you ‘there’s no free lunch in the world’. Someone gotta be paying somewhere, it’s just the matter of how.

  17. Well said folks! Profit is not a dirty word. Without profit, they would be out of business and millions of people would have lost their money that they invested when they bought Google stock. Profit is reinvested in other things, which create more profit, more jobs, more money, more happiness. They use their profit to buy things from other companies, which in turn makes a profit and allows those companies to stay in business and provide jobs. Instead of complaining about how they’re making too much profit, how about going out and doing the same thing yourself. If they can do it, so can you.

  18. @eid3tic they never said it was a goal, but if you have your eyes set on a certain number, it’s a goal. And I never said they could/wanted to/were looking to make $10 billion this (2011) year. They don’t have to come out in an investors call or with a press release saying concretely “this is our goal.” If your goal isn’t to make as much money as you can, then you’re not a smart business person. If Google thinks $10 billion is a possibility, then it’s a goal for them whether they say it or not. What’s confusing you here?

  19. I think that your headline is misleading. What Google actually said was that if you annualised last quarter’s earnings from *mobile* it was a $1 billion a year business. Mobile isn’t Android, although it includes any Android revenues. It also includes AdMob and general search from other mobile devices (including, of course, search-derived income from iPhone).

    That quarter was the first to include a full set of AdMob numbers, and AdMob was running at $100m previously. Assuming it’s gone up in line with the overall market, that accounts for somewhere between $120-150m of Google’s mobile revenue – which means the majority of that “annualised $1 billion” comes from AdMob.

    Plus, of course, this is gross revenue, not net revenue. Google splits its income from AdMob with publishers 60/40, which means most of that income goes straight out again. Likewise, there are rumours that search income from Android phones is split with the phone manufacturers.

    To be honest, considering the pace of development of Android (which requires some serious resources from Google) I am not even sure that Android on its own is breaking even. That doesn’t matter, of course, because Android is a strategic bet for Google, not a short-term revenue generator, and it can afford a few million dollars a year on it. But it’s not a $1 billion business yet, and may not be for some time.

  20. I’m looking forward to the article where you explain how they can make so much money on a free platform, let alone how they expect that to increase 1000%.

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