Less than two weeks after its stock price smashed through $600 for the first time, Google showed why it might not be long before the Internet search leader's shares are flirting with $700, an Associated Press report said.
The Associated Press report said even with more people enjoying the summer weather instead of surfing the web, Google churned out another quarter of astounding earnings and revenue growth likely to propel its stock to new heights .
The third-quarter results surpassed analyst expectations and demonstrated why Google has emerged as Silicon Valley's most prized company with a market value of about $200 billion after just nine years in business.
Investors are happy too. Google shares climbed $6.14 to finish the regular session at $639.62.
In the third quarter, Google earned $1.07 billion, or $3.38 per share, for the three months ended in September. That was up from net income of $733.4 million, or $2.36 per share, at the same time last year, the report said.
Revenue for the period totaled $4.23 billion, a 57% increase from $2.69 billion last year, the report said.
After subtracting commissions paid to its thousands of advertising partners, Google's revenue stood at $3.01 billion, about $70 million above the average analyst estimate, the report further said.