Anyone surprised by Google's decision to sell off Motorola Mobility need only glance at the company's most recent earnings report.
Google reported Thursday that it generated $1.24 billion in revenue from Motorola Mobility in the fourth quarter, down from $1.51 billion the same quarter a year earlier. To make matters worse, Motorola's operating loss increased to $384 million in the fourth quarter from $152 million in the fourth quarter of 2012.
Translation: Motorola's business is moving in the wrong direction.
The big news prior to the earnings was Google's decision to sell off Motorola Mobility to Lenovo for about $2.9 billion after having agreed to acquire it in 2011 for $12.5 billion.
Google did not provide additional comment on the sale in its earnings report, but analysts have suggested the acquisition was a play for valuable patents and the sale was a way for Google to cut its losses.
The search giant reported earnings of $12.01 per share on revenue of $16.86 for the quarter, falling short of Wall Street estimates for earnings of $12.26 per share on revenue of $16.75 billion.
The number of paid clicks increased by 31% year-over-year, but the average cost-per-click declined by 11% as Google continues to grapple with lower ad prices on mobile.
The company's stock hit $1,000 the day after it reported strong third-quarter earnings in October, and the stock has continued to tick up on optimism for Google's ad revenue and innovation.
The stock briefly declined by as much as 2% after hours following the earnings miss, but was roughly flat as of publication.