Google's Burden Grows Heavier

Investors are about to find out if Google (GOOG Quote) can deliver on Yahoo!'s (YHOO Quote) promise.

A week after Yahoo! reported strong third-quarter numbers, shares in Google have continued their skyward trajectory -- thanks in part to Yahoo!'s comments about the state of the paid-search business.

Now the question is whether Google's stock price -- up 5% over the past week, while Yahoo! has been flat -- can find support from whatever Google's tight-lipped management will say in reporting third-quarter results late Thursday.

"You head into Google's report knowing Yahoo! had a good quarter," says Schwab SoundView analyst Jordan Rohan. "I think it's likely Google will show very strong international growth and a respectable performance domestically." Rohan has an outperform rating on Google and a Street-high $180 price target. ...