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Chapter 677 Explosive First Quarter Data

Big Ivan (surely everyone knows who she is?) felt like she was going to die, her upper body facing the TV, half-paralyzed on the big bed.

Her consciousness was like a beach repeatedly washed by waves, leaving only a blurry dizziness and a thrilling sensation that made her tremble.

She was breathing heavily, beads of sweat sliding down her delicate contours, her body trembling entirely from desire and instinct.

She never imagined she would find herself in such a pathetic situation. How could a man last so long?

Unbeknownst to her, Ernst was already an extraordinary person, and now that his attention was mostly focused on the television, the delay would naturally be doubled, resulting in an exceptionally long duration.

On television, James Hamilton stood on the stage of the press conference. Behind him, a giant LED screen that almost occupied the entire background wall suddenly lit up. On the dark blue background, the white words "Google Core Data Report, First Quarter of 1999" were particularly eye-catching.

Following this, a set of meticulously designed animated charts appeared in a highly impactful manner, visually presenting Google's core data for the quarter, including revenue, profit, and business growth, to all viewers.

Even though Ernst wasn't there, he could feel the brief commotion caused by the data from the footage.

The numbers on the screen were clearly visible, each one striking the viewer's nerves like a heavy hammer.

Quarterly revenue reached $48.82 billion, a significant increase of 62.1% compared to the same period last year, which can be considered a miracle.

Gross profit reached $41.69 billion, a staggering 85.4%. Such a high level of profitability is rivaled only by Microsoft among global technology companies. Net profit was equally impressive, reaching $21.63 billion, with a net profit margin exceeding 44.3%.

Among the various business segments, GG's revenue was $17.27 billion, representing a year-on-year increase of 29.8%.

Looking at this increase alone, it might seem slightly less impressive compared to the overall revenue growth of 62.1%, but considering the market context, this achievement has already exceeded everyone's expectations.

Wall Street institutions previously predicted that Google's revenue growth this year would be between 20% and 25%.

Google's core business, GG revenue, is projected to grow by only 4% to 7% year-over-year in the first quarter, influenced by the GG support program for small and medium-sized enterprises.

The reason it is so low is that Google did not have a GG support program in the first quarter of last year.

But who could have imagined that the year-on-year growth would be so rapid, completely exceeding expectations.

"Is this a joke?" In the audience, Morgan Stanley President Philip, who remained behind, looked at the GG revenue data on the big screen and couldn't help but rub his eyes, as if he couldn't believe his eyes.

In stark contrast to Philip's shock was Rolf Schmidt, president of Deutsche Bank, who secured the underwriting rights for Google's IP.

An uncontrollable smile spread across his face, and he almost burst out laughing.

He quietly turned his head and said to Paulson beside him, "It seems we made the right bet this time. Google's potential is far greater than we imagined."

"It seems Google's small and medium-sized enterprise (SSME) support program has begun to show results and is now ready to reap the rewards," Paulson replied solemnly. He was familiar with Google's support program; for SSMEs using Google for the first time, there were huge discounts in the first quarter.

The discount is mainly determined by the click-through rate (CTR). The higher the CTR, the more revenue you get from conversions, and the cheaper the cost. Some local celebrity stores can even offer free discounts.

It is now clear that the first batch of users have already gained tangible benefits from Google GG and have begun to transform from early adopters into loyal users, which is the key reason why GG revenue has achieved explosive growth.

However, the GG business was not his biggest surprise. When he saw the data on value-added services, his eyes sharpened instantly.

The number of subscribers to Google Messenger, Google TNE song downloads, and Google Video is clearly increasing rapidly.

Otherwise, there would be no reason why value-added services would have increased by 136% year-on-year.

In the first quarter of last year, Google's value-added services revenue was only $10.2 billion, but now the figure on the big screen is a staggering $24.07 billion.

This growth rate, which more than doubled, far exceeded all market predictions and shocked everyone present like never before.

No one dared to underestimate the power of Google's value-added services. From the very first day Google Connect was launched, the entire Wall Street witnessed the money-making ability of Google Connect's value-added services.

Paulson's point is that everyone underestimated Google Connect's earning power. As Google's global expansion deepened, Google's value-added services saw such a significant increase.

Analysts on Wall Street, including those at Goldman Sachs itself, have stated this.

Google's value-added services are primarily sold in developed regions, and its business in emerging markets will definitely be severely impacted. Paulson agrees, given that Google Pass memberships aren't exactly cheap.

The monthly fee of $4.99 is undoubtedly a significant expense for the average user in emerging markets.

But look at these figures; it's impossible to achieve such a large increase by relying solely on developed regions.

What went wrong?

He couldn't understand it, but Hamilton on stage gave him the answer.

"Many people may be curious about why our value-added services have achieved such rapid growth." He picked up his laser pointer and pointed to the value-added service breakdown chart on the screen. "That's because our value-added services offer membership packages with different service benefits for different regional markets."

"Simply put, it's about providing customized, stripped-down versions of packages for users in different markets..."

"Their software sales figures." Just as everyone was still processing the information about value-added services, Richard Fuld suddenly exclaimed.

Several people nearby, drawn by his low exclamation, shifted their attention back from Hamilton's speech to the large screen.

Then everyone's eyes widened in surprise, and their faces showed an expression of disbelief and shock.

The numbers on the screen clearly showed that Google Office sold 1680 million units in the first quarter.

"1680 million units?" Merrill Lynch Chairman Komansky muttered subconsciously, then turned and asked uncertainly, "I remember that a few days ago, the latest survey data from the statistics company showed that Microsoft's Office software was expected to ship around 1500 million units in the first quarter, right?" Although the first quarter was not yet over, based on channel data and market feedback collected by various statistical agencies, the shipment forecast for Microsoft Office was relatively accurate. Even if there were errors, it was absolutely impossible for it to be 180 million units off.

"Today is March 30th." Just as everyone was lost in thought, Richard Fuld reminded them again.

As soon as he finished speaking, someone immediately realized, "You mean, the data Hamilton released isn't the complete first-quarter financial report? In other words, sales up to March 30th, or even before March 30th, already reached 16.8 million units, and the actual first-quarter figures are even better?"

"He didn't say this was the first quarter earnings report." Richard Fuld pointed to the big screen, gesturing for everyone to look closely at the title. "It says 'Google Core Data Report, First Quarter of 1999'."

Everyone realized that, based on the current sales momentum, Google Office software's final sales in the first quarter were very likely to exceed 1700 million units, or even higher.

This means that in just one year, Google Office has not only successfully seized a large market share from Microsoft, but is also expected to officially surpass Microsoft Office in quarterly sales, becoming the new hegemon in the global office software market.

Before anyone could react, Hamilton's next words once again drew gasps from everyone present.

"Next, I'm going to announce an important decision concerning Google's future development, which involves adjustments to some service fees."

"As Google's hardware deployment scale continues to expand globally, costs such as server maintenance, bandwidth, and R&D investment are all showing a continuous upward trend. In order to ensure the stable improvement of service quality and support the long-term sustainable development of enterprises, Google has decided to gradually adjust the arsGG advertising fees starting from May 1st."

It goes without saying that for industries with relatively low Google Ads (GA) costs, such as catering and retail, the tariff increase will be at least 5% to minimize the impact on small and medium-sized enterprise users.

For industries like finance, insurance, and luxury goods, where Google's advertising costs are already high and the demand for effective advertising is strong, the fee increase will definitely be capped at 15%. This single decision alone is enough to increase Google's annual revenue from its advertising business by at least 10%, which is undoubtedly another strong boost to its profitability.

"In addition to the Google Ads advertising costs, we have also decided to increase the sales price of Google Office software by 30% starting May 1st," Hamilton then announced another major decision.

This was another major revenue-generating event, causing a sensation at the scene once again.

One of the key factors that enabled Google Office to rise rapidly in a short period of time and wrest market share from Microsoft, which dominated the office software market, was its highly competitive price.

Judging from today's sales figures, Microsoft is likely to be dethroned from its position as the top office software provider.

All of this is thanks to its high quality and low price.

The overall software cost is about 40% lower than Microsoft Office. Even companies that are used to Microsoft Office and are hesitant to switch software easily will be tempted by such a large price difference.

"Ha." Deutsche Bank President Rolf finally couldn't help but laugh out loud, his face beaming with undisguised joy.

I originally thought that with an underwriting fee of 0.35%, there was hardly any profit margin, and that it was all about leveraging Google's brand influence and subsequent business.

But now it seems that 0.35% doesn't matter, because Google's stock has no shortage of investors and can bring Deutsche Bank a lot of high-net-worth clients.

Judging from the data released today, Google far surpasses Microsoft in terms of revenue, gross profit, net profit, and future prospects.

With a company like Google, why can't it crush Microsoft? $6000 billion.

Rolf believed that Google needed to at least reach a height that no other company had ever reached before.

He recalled a legend that companies that invested in Ernst always gave a slap followed by a sweet treat.

Before the agreement was reached, there was a lot of anger and dissatisfaction.

In the end, it was discovered that the investment institutions that secured the deal were all beaming with joy, while those that failed looked like they'd been killed.

But he was still conservative, because Ernst's goal was not to trample Microsoft underfoot, but to make it unable to see its own feet.