Google (GOOG) is accustomed to being in the top spot. It leads search and virtually owns the online ad space. Its Google News portal is among the top sites for directing traffic to media outlets. But, the behemoth is starting to feel the feet from social media sensation Facebook.

Not only is the rather young platform stealing market share from Google News, it's now encroaching on its e-mail turf ... a situation that Google isn't taking lightly. To compete more effectively with Facebook, Google is upgrading its Gmail capabilities to include more social media tools reminiscent of those found on its competitor.

Electronic Arts Inc. (ERTS) was down in the after-hours session by over 9% on the heels of the gaming publisher's Q3 report. Non-GAAP sales were off by over 20%. Adjusted income came in at 33 cents per share. This was two cents higher than expectations according to my earnings preview, but a lot less than the 56 cents per share earned in the comparable frame.

The press release mentions the lower quantity of titles released during the holiday season as being a driver of the decline in revenue (a tough European market was also cited). That may be, but it doesn't absolve EA of its fundamental challenges.

Google (GOOG) has generated most of its income from the Ad Words program. When using it, you choose a group of words that you think will come up in an online search. You agree to pay from 1 cent upwards each time your words are clicked upon. Google uses a bidding war technique with its Ad Words program. The highest bidder per word gets to place its website on the top ten of a search page. That program has been fantastic for Google.

At the same time Yahoo! (YHOO) has taken a different road. It chose to offer display ads on search pages. The ads component added to its revenue stream in 2009, making it number one.

How are readers finding the news? Well, increasingly, the answer is Facebook. The social networking site, which boasts well over 350 million registered users, is now the fourth largest referral source of traffic to online news destinations. Almost a year ago, only 0.5% of traffic to news and media sites came from Facebook. Today, that level is 3.5%, according to data from Web analytics firm Experian Hitwise.

Only Google (GOOG), Yahoo! (YHOO) and MSN (MSFT) send more traffic to news sites. Google News, a subset of the search engine giant, failed to keep pace with Facebook, despite the fact that it exists specifically to send Internet users to media outlets. Only 1.39% of referrals came from this source.

THQ (THQI), a video game publisher whose colleagues include Activision Blizzard (ATVI) and Electronic Arts (ERTS), reported very good news this week. For the third quarter, non-GAAP income was 35 cents per share. In the comparable frame, a loss of 14 cents per share was posted.

This obviously represents a vast improvement, although it should be noted that it didn't come on the back of a big sales increase. On a reported basis, the top line was flat, and on a non-GAAP basis, it was down more significantly. This is important to note, because it would have been nice to have read about a revenue expansion, considering the way the gaming industry has been suffering.

Cisco Systems, Inc. (CSCO), an expert in networking, posted Q2 results on Wednesday after the bell. Judging by the data, the tech company is holding up okay.

The top line saw an increase of 8%. Net income came in at 40 cents per share, a 25% jump compared to the year-ago number. According to our earnings preview, 35 cents per share was the figure to beat. Score one for management.

Shortly after the introduction of Apple, Inc.'s (AAPL) long anticipated iPad tablet computer I was quite surprised to receive an email from one of our more astute readers boldly stating "Game, set and match. See you at $300"

My immediate reaction was that this overly zealous stock trader and Apple enthusiast had let all reason escape his cranium. For me it reinforced how irrational investors are and how little they understand numbers. Apple stock will not reach $300 this year.

Ahhh, Hulu. That wonderful destination where I can re-acquaint myself with my favorite Justin-Timberlake-on-SNL moments, catch up on episodes of Greek, and search for those old Silver Spoons clips I remember so fondly. The two-year-old website is a joint venture between Walt Disney's (DIS) ABC Network, General Electric's (GE) NBC Universal division, and News Corp.'s (NWS) FOX Entertainment Group, and is partially funded by Providence Equity Partners.

But just as online news readers may soon be charged to access The New York Times online, we may have to open our wallets for certain corners of the Hulu universe (they will likely still let me watch Silver Spoons for free).

Microsoft (MSFT), the tech giant behind the Windows operating system, whose colleagues include Apple (AAPL), Google (GOOG), IBM (IBM), and Yahoo! (YHOO), issued Q2 numbers after the bell on Thursday. Revenues increased 14%, and diluted earnings per share went up well over 50% to 74 cents.

In terms of expectations, Earnings.com says 59 cents was the number to beat. Obviously, the company had no problem doing that. As the news outlets have been reporting, Windows 7 was the big driver of the quarter's success.

Shares of e-commerce giant Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) are trading lower in after hours trading despite posting better than expected earnings this afternoon for its fourth quarter.

Going into this afternoon's earnings release, analysts were expecting to see Amazon show earnings of 72 cents per share, on revenues of $9.04 billion in revenues.

The three major social media sites have been pushing new tools out to their user communities aggressively over the past year. Each company has its own set of rumors, from IPOs to being on both sides of an acquisition. While the ultimate 2010 aims of Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn may not have been revealed to us yet, it is clear that all three are looking for ways to beef up revenue and demonstrate long-term viability.

Whether or not Facebook goes public this year, it's still pointed toward that ultimate goal. The 350-million member social network is focused on finding new sources of revenue and gaining better penetration into those it already has. Even if it's more than a year away, it's never too soon to start shoring up your financial statements for an IPO. The latest new feature from Facebook, which has been announcing enhancements fairly rapidly over the past few months, is targeted directly at advertisers, underscoring the importance that the company's attaching to revenue growth.

Texas Instruments (TXN), a chipmaker whose related companies include Intel (INTC) and Qualcomm (QCOM), reported results for the fourth quarter on Monday after the bell. Profit growth was incredible, but it's difficult to call the stock a buy at this time, at least based on price action.

Revenues increased a whopping 27%. Earnings came in at 52 cents per share. That was more than 100% better than the adjusted 21 cents per share earned in Q4 2008. Operational cash flow went down 10%, but overall, you've got to call this a much improved quarter (a note on cash flow: it pretty much covered capital expenditures, dividends, and share repurchases, which is good news).

During the California gold rush, miners weren't the only ones to strike it rich. "So did purveyors of essential equipment like axes and shovels," notes Stephen Leeb.

In his The Complete Investor, the advisor explains, "Today a gold rush of sorts is on to develop products using nanotechnology -- materials built at the molecular scale. And the safest path to riches is once again the equipment sellers." Here's a look at FEI Co. (FEIC).

Google (GOOG) proudly posted its fourth-quarter numbers on Thursday after the bell, probably assuming it would see a bid once the market digested its performance. But it didn't happen. Instead, the market sold the company on what I would call a very good report. Are you getting the feeling that the bullish sentiment on Wall Street is fading away?

The search giant, feared by both Microsoft (MSFT) and Yahoo! (YHOO), among others, said it made $6.79 per share on a non-GAAP basis. Which means management grew the bottom line by a more than respectable 33%. According to our earnings preview, the market was looking for $6.43.

International Business Machines (IBM) nailed another quarter. Going into the report, it was difficult to believe that Big Blue's fundamentals were going to suddenly collapse. Although they didn't, yesterday's after-hours crowd wasn't kind to the company's shares, which slid by almost 2%.

Who cares? The stats from the Q4 release should dissuade anyone from feeling bearish. Earnings per share increased 10% to $3.59. Expectations were for $3.47 per share, so congratulations are in order for another solid beat. Furthermore, gross margin experienced a nice expansion.