As we noted in our Google earnings preview, analysts had forecast earnings of $6.60 for the quarter. Google outpaced analyst earnings by posting earnings of $6.76 a share.

Despite posting better than expected earnings figures, the stock traded down nearly 5% in after hours trading as investors reacted negatively to the company’s rising costs.

Total costs and expenses rose to $4.3 billion from $3.6 billion during the same period last year. Most of the increase in expenses came from hiring close to 800 new employees during the quarter.

Visit bloggingstocks for a more in depth analysis of Google’s first quarter results.

• Google Inc. (GOOG) : Google will be reporting its first quarter numbers tomorrow after the market closes. Wall Street has forecast earnings of $6.57 per share. For the same period last year the company had earnings of $5.16. GOOG was up 0.38% on the day to $589.00. The company will report earnings after the market close.
• Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) : AMD will be releasing its first quarter results tomorrow, and analysts have forecast the company to report a loss of $0.07 per share. During the same period last year the company reported a loss of $0.66. The stock traded up 3.4% on the day to $9.89. The company will report earnings after the market close.
• Bank of America Corporation (BAC) : Bank of America will be reporting its first quarter results on Friday with analyst forecasting $0.09 a share. For the same period last year the company had earnings of $0.44. The company will be reporting before the market opens on Friday.
• General Electric (GE) : General Electric will be reporting its first quarter results on Friday. Wall Street analysts have forecast earnings of $0.16, compared with $0.26 during the same period last year. The company will be reporting before the market opens Friday.

Wal Mart will be reporting its fourth quarter numbers, with analysts expecting to see the retail giant post earnings of $1.12 per share. During the same period last year the company had earnings of $1.03 per share. The numbers will be coming out before the market opens in the morning.

Dell Computer is going to be reporting its fourth quarter numbers tomorrow afternoon following the market close. Analysts are forecasting the company to report earnings of 27 cents per share, slightly lower than the 29 cents a share that it reported during the same period last year. The company last reported earnings back on November 19 when it was unable to match analyst estimates.

Ford Motor (NYSE: F) hit a new 52 week high today of 9.14 before afternoon profit taking came in and pushed shares lower. The stock has been very strong lately, and recently was considered to be the stock of the year from the writers of CrossingWallStreet. Shares finished the day down slightly at $8.94, down 0.45%.

Technology giant Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) also rose to a new 52 week high today. Shares of the company hit a day today of $30.14. Shares of MSFT finished today trading session up 0.4% to $30.11, just three pennies off its new 52 week high.

Gold prices continue to rise, and Yamaha Gold (NYSE: AUY) has been benefiting from the recent gold rush, setting a new 52 week high earlier in the session at 13.49. After hitting another new high today, the profit takers came in and sold the stock off a bit, which ended the day slightly lower at $13.15, down 0.23%. Gold prices rose as high as 1146.5 but closed down 70 cents to 1,140.5.

What are your favorite stocks right now? Which stocks do you see rising to new highs in the near future?

Going into this afternoon’s earnings report, analysts had been expecting the company to post earnings of 41 cents per share. The company’s actual earnings came in higher, with a reported 47 cents per share.

For the same period last year the company had 40 cents in earnings.

Late day traders are pushing shares up 3% in after hours trading.

Music downloads has been a major driving force for Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) through its iTunes service, and Google is looking to grab a piece of that pie. According to sources, users will be able to go onto the new Google music site and search for a particular song or artist. Suppose you search for the band U2, you will get a list of available songs, which if clicked will launch the song into a streaming player, and also provide the user the option to download the music.

Google stock has traded up to a new 52 week high today, trading as high as $559.35, and is currently trading up 0.9% to $556.73, up $5.01.