In a surprising move, Google's first quarter saw lower-than-expected earnings. This morning, shares were down $39.51 to $539. "But heavy spending on new hires and other investments crimped the bottom line, reports Wall Street Journal. Although Google projected $8.11 a share, they reported an adjusted profit of $8.08 on Thursday. "Google added more than 1,900 employees to its headcount during the quarter, which made for the highest rate of new hires since the first quarter of 2008. Operating expenses rose to 33% of revenue for the quarter compared to 27% of revenues for the same period last year."

In related news, Google celebrates Charlie Chaplin's birthday today (it's actually on 4/16) by replacing their usual signage with a tribute video of the silent movie star. Aw.

[WSJ]