Google didn't have a great year in 2014. Starting out the year at $556 per share, it floundered all year, ending up dropping to $530 to close out December. It continued its decline in January, dropping to $497 before starting to grow again.

The reason for the struggles: Google seemed to be losing its touch on the product that made it famous — search advertising. With the rise of competitors in the advertising space, including Facebook, margins have decreased significantly.

Is the worst over?

If you were paying attention last week when Google released its earnings, you might think that's the case. Here are the highlights:

To say investors were pleased with Google's earnings numbers would be a gross understatement. While the stock closed at $601.78 on Thursday shortly before the announcement was made, it opened at $680 on Friday, a 13% overnight spike. The stock kept rising, peaking at $703 before it closed at $699.62.

How's that for a positive reaction?

The company's new CFO, Ruth Porat, speaking to investors for the first time, promised that the company will continue to manage the pace of expenses as it finds ways to support new growth initiatives.

“She confirmed that they are more open to focusing on expense controls, more open to providing new disclosures and more open to potentially returning cash,” said Ben Schachter, an analyst with Macquarie Securities. “Those are the three things people wanted, and she came through.”