Wall Street Anxious Ahead of Google Earnings (GOOG)

Wall Street is unusually anxious ahead of Google's

third-quarter earnings results Thursday, as its spending spree erodes investor confidence. According to a Reuters report, "The Internet giant's free-spending -- from more than 20 acquisitions this year alone to internal projects such asself-driven cars and big bets in wind energy -- has weighed on the company's stock, which has underperformed the market this year." Operating expenses, capital investments, and employee count are notable details that Wall Street will be paying attention to. The Reuters report notes that "With Google's shares up roughly 20 percent since mid-August, analysts are betting it will justify its spending with details of improving business prospects." "People don't mind expenses if you're growing revenue," BGC Partners' analyst Colin Gillis told the news service. Analysts expect Google to report revenues of $5.26 billion in the third quarter, up 3.3% from the second quarter, with adjusted earnings of $6.68 a share. While some question Google's prowess in products like the highly-touted Wave, analysts remain upbeat. Alexei Oreskovic of Reuters comments that "Paid clicks and cost-per-click, the two metrics that investors use to gauge the health of Google's search ad business, should both improve compared to the second quarter, said UBS analyst Brian Pitz, citing Instant search as one of several factors." "There's some strong fundamental trends that look pretty positive, whether it's product search doing well, Instant search driving some growth, and just generally positive monetization trends," Pitz said of business in the third quarter. In other potential good news, Citigroup analyst Mark Mahaney estimates that revenue from mobile ads could reach a run rate of $450 million by the end of the year. Shares of Google are up 0.5% this afternoon, to $541.31.