Google shares soar past $1,000 on strong earnings

SOARING SHARES. Google shares rise more than 13% to pass the $1,000 mark on October 18. File photo

NEW YORK CITY, USA – Shares of Internet search and advertising titan Google soared more than 13% to pass the $1,000 mark for the first time Friday, October 18, after a strong earnings report.

After pushing to $1,007, an hour into trade, the shares had eased to around the $1,000 level, helping push the S&P 500 to a new all-time high and delivering the Nasdaq Composite to its highest level since September 2000.

After trade closed Thursday, Google reported a 36% jump in its third-quarter net profit to $2.97 billion, or $8.75 a share. Revenues also beat forecasts with a 12% jump year-on-year.

"We are closing in on our goal of a beautiful, simple, and intuitive experience regardless of your device," Google chief Larry Page told analysts.

At the $1,000 mark, Google shares were up 41% from the beginning of the year, and the company's market value reached $334 billion, still shy of leader Apple's $461 billion.

Its success Friday helped pull shares of social networking leader Facebook up 4%, and online retail power Amazon up 2.8%. – Rappler.com