| By Maureen O'Gara |
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| February 26, 2008 09:45 PM EST |
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4,301 |
Google’s stock dropped 7% this morning – down to the $450s – after comScore sprung the lever on the trapdoor under its feet and reported that US paid-click growth in January was flat year-over-year and down 7.5% sequentially.
Google derives most of its revenue from paid-clicks.
ComScore said Yahoo’s paid-clicks were up 15% and cut 8 points off of Google’s market share.
The conclusion is Google has hit the economy’s headwinds, raising doubts about how it, basically an advertising company, will fare in a slowdown and whether it can meet first-quarter expectations.
In the fourth quarter Google admitted to a drop in paid-clicks but attributed it to new widgetry meant to cut the number of accidental clicks.
Google stock, near $750 not that long ago, is down 30 some odd percent since October and analysts are pulling in their price targets. UBS cut its number from $650 to $590 this morning; the average is down around $40-$50 to about $700.
Maureen O'Gara the most read technology reporter for the past 20 years, is the Cloud Computing and Virtualization News Desk editor of SYS-CON Media. She is the publisher of famous "Billygrams" and the editor-in-chief of "Client/Server News" for more than a decade. One of the most respected technology reporters in the business, Maureen can be reached by email at maureen(at)sys-con.com or paperboy(at)g2news.com, and by phone at 516 759-7025.
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