Live-Blogging Google's Earnings Call

Google (GOOG) today reported a year-over-year decline in fourth-quarter profit, hurt by $1.09 billion in write-downs related to AOL and Clearwire (CLWR). Operating earnings rose, however, and revenue climbed 18 percent to $5.70 billion from the year-earlier period.

Google’s revenue, excluding traffic-acquisition costs, was $4.22 billion, above the Thomson Reuters estimate of $4.12 billion. Earnings per share, excluding certain items, was $5.10, beating estimates. The company also announced plans for an options exchange program for workers whose stock options are underwater.

Updates from its conference call with analysts:

4:33 p.m.–The host introduces today’s conference call participants: Google CEO Eric Schmidt, dialing in from New York; CFO Patrick Pichette and SVP of product management Jonathan Rosenberg, in Mountain View, Calif.; and Omid Kordestani, SVP of global sales and business development, in London.

Read the rest of this post