Number of Google+ Users Doubled Over Prior Quarter

January 20, 2012

Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) chief executive Larry Page stated on the company’s quarterly earning’s call that Google+, the company’s emerging social platform, now boasts over 90 million users. Page also announced that over 60 percent of those users “engage” the site on a daily basis, with over 80 percent doing so weekly.

Page clarified that the number was “well over double what I announced just a quarter ago on our earnings call.” Google+ has also added a new feature every day since its launch in June, Page stated. ”That’s more than 200 updates in total.” Page emphasized also that “Google+ users are very engaged with our products…” before citing the new user statistics.

Google+ is the popular search provider’s answer to Facebook, and Page’s top priority – so much so that employee bonuses are directly tied to the success or failure of the site’s various “social products.” Google itself has been careful, however, not to categorize Google+ as a social network; instead, Nikesh Arora, the company’s chief business officer, describes it as a “platform which allows us to bring social elements into all the services and products that we offer.”

Here’s how Google shares are reacting to the news:

Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG): GOOG shares recently traded at $587.61, down $51.96, or 8.12%. They have traded in a 52-week range of $473.02 to $670.25. Volume today was 5,894,421 shares versus a 3-month average volume of 2,904,340 shares. The company’s trailing P/E is 20.03, while trailing earnings are $29.34 per share.

To contact the reporter on this story: Lindsey Grossman at staff.writers@wallstcheatsheet.com

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Damien Hoffman at editors@wallstcheatsheet.com