Google misses — no surprise

Google has been looking more vulnerable as a technological upheaval nibbles at its dominance in Internet search, while the company also deals with a potentially huge regulatory headache in Europe. But those threats haven’t done much to undercut its power or profit.

Google’s first- quarter earnings rose 4 percent to $ 3.6 billion as the company’s Internet- leading advertising network lifted revenue by 14 percent to $ 17.3 billion from the same time last year. If not for employee stock compensation, the Mountain View company said it would have earned $ 6.57 per share, 4 cents below the estimates among analysts polled by Fact Set. Revenue, minus ad commissions, totaled $ 13.9 billion — about $ 100 million below analysts’ predictions.

It marked the sixth consecutive quarter that Google’s earnings have fallen below the analysts’ targets that shape investors’ expectations. The earnings miss stemmed from several factors, including a stronger dollar that depressed overseas revenue and Google’s penchant for spending heavily on far- flung projects such as driverless cars, medical research and Internet beaming balloons that may take years to pay off, if ever.

Google CEO Larry Page believes investing in risky projects that he calls “moonshots” will produce breakthroughs that turn into the company’s next big moneymaker while helping make people’s lives better, too.