Yahoo Finance Google Value Record As Mobile Traffic Grows
Google (NasdaqGS: GOOG - news) 's shares have passed the $1,000 (£617) mark for the first time after a strong earnings report.
The $1,000 per share figure is a 41% jump from the start of the year and values Google at $334bn (£206bn).
The milestone was driven by third-quarter results which beat Wall Street expectations.
Net profit jumped 36% to $2.97bn (£1.83bn) as Google said growth in advertising volumes from mobile devices was offsetting declines in advertising rates.
A key measure for investors is the average cost-per-click - the price that companies pay Google when consumers click on their ads.
This decreased 8% in the three months to September, deepening a 6% price erosion in the second quarter.
Google's business, like rivals Facebook (NasdaqGS: FB - news) and Yahoo (NasdaqGS: YHOO - news) , has come under pressure as more consumers access its online services on mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets, where advertising rates are lower than on PCs.
But Google said the total amount of paid clicks increased 26% year-on-year during the three months, delighting investors.
JMP Securities analyst Ronald Josey said: "That's the key story - their ad volume growth is outpacing the decline in cost-per-clicks."
Chief executive Larry Page told analysts that roughly 40% of the traffic to YouTube, the Google-owned video website, now occurs on mobile devices compared to only 6% just two years ago.
Google reported a 23% rise in revenue from its internet business, excluding fees paid to partners, of $10.8bn (£6.66bn) over the quarter.
But it was not all seen as good news.
While Google executives provided few details on the recently-launched MotoX smartphone, the flagship device within Google's Motorola mobile phone business, they confirmed continuing operating losses at Motorola - $248m (£153m) during the period.
Separately, a new version of the company's flagship Nexus (Xetra: 522090 - news) phone has appeared briefly on its Play store.
The handset's listing was swiftly removed but appears to confirm that the phone will soon be officially confirmed.
Google's group results offered a sharp contrast to online rival Yahoo, which reported a slight dip in quarterly revenue on Tuesday and lowered its financial outlook.
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