Google's Q4 earnings rise

SAN FRANCISCO — Google's fourth-quarter earnings rose 7 percent as online advertisers spent more money in pursuit of holiday shoppers.

The financial results announced Tuesday were a mixed bag. While the company's earnings topped analyst estimates, an accounting quirk caused net revenue to fall below the projections that guide investor expectations.

Wall Street still liked what it saw. Google's stock climbed $30.78, or 4.4 percent, to $733.65 in extended trading.

The most recent quarter didn't provide an apples-to-apples comparison to the previous year because the latest results included Motorola Mobility. Google didn't own Motorola Mobility in 2011, having completed its $12.4 billion acquisition of the handset maker eight months ago.

Google earned nearly $2.9 billion, or $8.62 cents per share during the final three months of last year. That compared to net income of $2.7 billion, or $8.22 per share, at the same time last year.