Google beats in Q1, but the top line was a little weak

That was a nice performance, and according to Reuters, the figure even went beyond the so-called whisper number of $5 per share. Good for Google! But, there is a sad angle to the earnings story. The top line didn't do as well as the market would have liked, depending on how you look at things.

Sales increased 6% to $5.51 billion on a year-over-year basis. Unfortunately, on a sequential basis, sales decreased 3%. This was the first time that sales declined sequentially. And the market was hoping for $5.53 billion. Personally, I think the fact that Google increased the top line on a year-over-year basis is good enough, but since the market watches these things, especially with tech companies, investors have to pay attention.

Cash flow, though, saw a decent increase. Google generated $2.2 billion from operations in the current quarter. Last year, operational cash flow was roughly $1.8 billion. Free cash jumped nicely because management devoted less monies to capital spending.

Shares of Google were off somewhat in the after-hours session Thursday. So the stock didn't turn out to be the great earnings trade that I thought it would be; hopefully the shares will do well through the Friday session. I think, though, that Google might be a stock to hold. In my opinion, the numbers were, in an overall sense, pretty acceptable, and when one considers how the stock has been doing lately, one has to think that there is still some upside left to the shares.

Disclosure: I own Microsoft and have covered calls written against the position; holdings can change without notice.