Smartmoney.com: Stock Watch: All Google-y Eyed

Big earnings day for Google. Stay tuned...

In October, Google crushed analysts' third-quarter earnings estimates, booking a profit of 45 cents a share, vs. a consensus estimate of 36 cents. For the fourth quarter, Google is expected to earn 72 cents per share, according to earnings tracker Thomson First Call.

The stakes for today's report are high. If Google doesn't at least make its number, concerns about its steep valuation — shares trade at 58 times the 2005 consensus earnings estimate, according to Zacks Investment Research — will surely set in. Skeptics might also point to the company's relatively narrow (if deep) revenue stream and competition from Yahoo! (YHOO), and will wring their hands leading up to the Feb. 14 expiration of the lock-up period of 176 million insider-owned shares.