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Google Investing $2.5 Billion A Year in Data Centers

Google Investing $2.5 Billion A Year in Data Centers

Google invested $774 million in its Internet infrastructure in the second quarter of 2012, an increase from $607 million in the previous quarter. Over the last four quarters, Google has invested nearly $2.5 billion in servers and server farms, illustrating the strategic importance of data centers in Google's business.

Google invested $774 million in its Internet infrastructure in the second quarter of 2012, an increase from $607 million in the previous quarter. Over the last four quarters, Google has invested nearly $2.5 billion in servers and mission-critical facilities, illustrating the strategic importance of data centers in Google's business. The company disclosed its latest spending figures in its quarterly earnings report, which was released Thursday afternoon.

Google's capital expenditures fluctuate from quarter to quarter, and the increase in the second quarter is likely tied to the construction of several international data center projects, including three new facilities in three markets in Asia (Singapore, Taiwan and Hong Kong) and a new data center in Dublin. In the United States, the company has also announced plans to double the size of its data center in Pryor, Oklahoma.

Here's a look at Google's quarter-by-quarter spending on capital expenditures.

  • 1Q 2007: $597 million
  • 2Q 2007: $575 million
  • 3Q 2007: $553 million
  • 4Q 2007: $678 million
  • 1Q 2008: $842 million
  • 2Q 2008: $698 million
  • 3Q 2008: $452 million
  • 4Q 2008:$368 million
  • 1Q 2009: $263 million
  • 2Q 2009: $139 million
  • 3Q 2009: $186 million
  • 4Q2009: $221 million
  • 1Q2010: $239 million
  • 2Q2010: $476 million
  • 3Q2010: $757 million
  • 4Q2010: $2.55 Billion
  • 1Q2011: $890 million
  • 2Q2011: $917 million
  • 3Q2011: $680 million
  • 4Q2011: $951 million
  • 1Q 2012: $607 million
  • 2Q 2012: $774 million

A capital expenditure is an investment in a long-term asset, typically physical assets such as buildings or machinery. Google says the majority of its capital investments are for IT infrastructure, including data enters, servers, and networking equipment. In the past the company's CapEx spending has closely tracked its data center construction projects, each of which requires between $200 million and $600 million in investment.

"We expect to continue to make significant capital expenditures," Google said in its earnings announcement.

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