The Associated Press (www.ap.org) announced on November 19 that shares of Google Inc. (www.google.com) slipped nearly 3 percent on November 18 after the search engine giant warned for the second time in a week that its fourth-quarter revenue growth rate is likely to slow from previous quarters.
In a regulatory filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Google said that its sequential growth rate would probably decline in the fourth quarter versus the third quarter because of intensifying competition and an inevitable slowdown as the business gets bigger. Its sequential revenue growth rate was 7.5 percent in the second quarter versus the first quarter and 15.1 percent in the third quarter compared with the second quarter.
On November 18, Google shares fell $4.96, or 2.9 percent, to close at $167.54 on the Nasdaq Stock Market. Since its August 19 initial public offering, the stock has traded in a range of $95.96 to $201.60. Google also warned that its advertising revenues could be hurt by its decision to remove online ads that generate low levels of interest.
