Google Reports 'Decline in Nexus' Earnings in Last Quarter

Google on Thursday during its quarterly earnings call reported higher revenues of $17.26 billion, which was up by 12 percent year-on-year. The company alongside also revealed that its Nexus range of devices saw a decline in sales in the period.

During Google's earnings call, Chief Financial Officer Patrick Pichette talked about "other revenues" stream that includes the company's brand new Google Store along with Google Play. To recall, Google in March launched the dedicated online store where all 'Made with Google' hardware could be purchased.

Pichette added that the company saw a decline in Nexus sales that was offset by Google Play growth compared to same time last year. He also went on to suggest that the decline in Nexus sales was primarily due to recent devices including Motorola Google Nexus 6 and HTC Google Nexus 9.

9to5google cites Pichette who added that the recent Nexus devices, mainly Nexus 6, did not match Nexus 7's performance last year.

Pichette during the earnings call noted, "Other revenues grew 23 percent year over year to $1.8 billion, but were down 2 percent quarter over quarter, driven really by year over year growth in the Play Store, offset by decline in Nexus, and the currency fluctuations. Year over year it hasn't been as strong given the strength of the Nexus 7 last year."

The firm revealed that while earnings from "other revenues" in the quarter were up 23 percent year-on-year, it was down 3 percent when compared to the last quarter of 2014.

It's worth mentioning that Google has for the first time cleared the air about performance of its recent Nexus devices across markets. We can assume that the Nexus 6 priced at $649 (Rs. 44,000 for the 32GB variant in India) could not repeat the success of significantly cheaper LG Google Nexus 5 that was launched in 2013. Similarly, the HTC Google Nexus 9 tablet priced at $399 (Rs. 28,900 for the Wi-Fi only tablet in India) was unable to make an impression matching the also much cheaper Google Nexus 7 launched back in 2013.

Google's latest Nexus 6 smartphone also had its share of controversies, with Pichette back in January revealing that Google was unable to meet the demand for the smartphone.

The Mountain View giant unveiled the bigger, more expensive versions of its Nexus phone and tablet in October last year.