• Bloomberg, et.al., Friday, April 16, 2010 11:28 AM

Missing some analysts' first-quarter earnings estimates, Google opened itself up to criticism and stern analysis going into the weekend. Bloomberg said it underscored "the rising cost of pursuing growth in new markets."
Indeed, seeking to establish its presence in highly competitive fields like display advertising and mobile, the search giant increased hiring, made several acquisitions, and boosted capital spending. All told, the company's costs rose 18% -- double the increase in the fourth quarter.

Making no apologies on Thursday, Patrick Pichette, Google's chief financial officer, said the company has a "growth agenda," and therefore needs to spend and hire to ensure it can address markets such as display advertising and mobile. Yet, "The market had been doing better and people expected better," Broadpoint AmTech analyst Ben Schachter told Bloomberg. Under the headline, "Has Google Hit The Ceiling?" Fast Company suggested that "Google is a victim of its own success, as its investors were probably expecting higher numbers."

Regarding Google's mobile strategy , Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster expressed some disappointment over the company's Nexus One effort. "While we view Google's Nexus One as the most advanced Android phone available to date, we believe that based on checks from Piper Jaffray analyst Mike Walkley and data released by mobile analytics companies, the phone has not seen the same success in the market as the Droid and other alternatives."

What's more, "One of the big questions hanging over [Google's] mobile strategy is whether its acquisition of mobile advertising startup AdMob will be blocked by the government due to antitrust concerns," writes Mobile Beat.  That said, "Google may be fighting a multifront war against Apple, Microsoft, federal antitrust regulators and the government of China, but its online advertising business continues to hum along nicely," noted The New York Times.

Indeed, the company beat published forecasts, reporting that its net income in the first quarter jumped more than 37% year-over-year, while sales grew 23% over the same period. On the news, Jefferies & Co. analyst Youssef Squali told The Times: "I think we're seeing the reacceleration of online advertising." Squali added that the quarter was impressive, if not quite strong enough to rally Google stock.

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