In a season of business news dominated by Google, now a dampener. For the first time since its 2004 IPO, Google’s performance has fallen below analyst’s expectations. The 12.4 percent fall in its share price has wiped out $16 billion in shareholder wealth. Though its net income has almost doubled (82% actually) to last years’ performance, Google had to face to increased tax payouts – its effective tax rate this quarter was 42% versus 30 % earlier. Its international expenses were higher during this period. According to its CEO, the company is pleased with its performance. Why not? Online Advertising continues to grow unabated. Thomson Financial estimates that after subtracting commissions paid to Google’s advertising partners, it clocked fourth-quarter revenue of $1.29 billion, matching analyst expectations. Google spent $155 million on sales and marketing during the fourth quarter, more than double of the $76 million spent last year. It also hired nearly 700 more workers during the fourth quarter. It now employs 5,680 employees. After accounting for charitable donation and stock compensation expenses, Google said it would have earned $1.54 per share which was much below well below the average estimate of $1.76 per share among analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial. Google is also maturing as a company and consequently, its sales growth is slowing down. But the company is quickly entering into new profitable markets, for example, its recent buyout of a Radio Advertising solutions company, dmarc Broardcasting.