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Google Inc reached $1,000 for the first time amid growing optimism about new advertising for wireless devices and online video, joining a small club of US stocks.
The world's largest search-engine company gained a record 13 per cent to $1,007.40 before retreating to $999.32 at 11:19 am New York time. The stock, sold at $85 in a 2004 initial public offering, has risen every year since except for 2010 and 2008, when it slumped 56 per cent during the recession.
The Internet company is benefiting from ads for new formats after expanding beyond delivering advertisements alongside search results on desktop computers. Google should take 33 per cent of the global online-advertising market this year, up from 31 per cent in 2012, according to EMarketer Inc.
Google, based in Mountain View, California, already has one of the highest market capitalisations in the US at about $330 billion, trailing only Apple Inc and Exxon Mobil Corp. Among the few companies with a stock price above $1,000: online-travel company Priceline.com Inc and Seaboard Corp, a producer of turkey and hog with a market value of just $3 billion.
Google's shares jumped today after reporting sales and profit that beat estimates for the third quarter.
Revenue, excluding sales passed on to partner sites, was $11.92 billion, exceeding the average analyst projection for $11.64 billion, according to estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Profit excluding certain items was $10.74 a share, topping analysts' average projection of $10.36, Google reported yesterday.
While mobile dragged down ad prices, the rise in the number of clicks on the ads overcame the declines to boost sales. The number of paid clicks jumped 26 per cent, even as the company reported an 8 per cent decline in average costs.
The search provider has been working to address falling prices. The company earlier this year introduced a new advertising service called "enhanced campaigns," encouraging marketers to funnel more of their spending onto wireless devices.
