SAN FRANCISCO – Joining a small club of US stocks, Google’s stock price on Friday passed US$1000 for the first time amid optimism about new advertising for wireless devices and online video.The world’s largest search-engine gained 14 percent to a record $1011.40 at Friday’s close in New York.
The shares, originally sold at US$85 in a 2004 initial public offering, has risen every year since, except for 2010 and 2008, when it slumped 56 percent during the recession.
The price jumped on Friday after Google reported Q3 sales and profit that beat estimates amid a continued focus on advertising for mobile devices. Third-quarter revenue was $11.92 billion.
Net income was up 36 percent at $2.97 billion.But the higher volumes took their toll on Google’s gross profit margin, which shrank to 56.9 percent, its lowest level this year, according to Bloomberg.
The search provider has been working to address falling ad prices by introducing services such as “enhanced campaigns,” to encourage advertisers to switch to mobile devices and increase volumes.
Last quarter, the volume of clicks on advertisements outweighed the drop in prices.
But Google should take 33 percent of the global online-advertising market this year, up from 31 percent in 2012, according to analyst Web site EMarketer.
Google’s $330 billion market cap in the US trails only Apple ($462.3 billion) and Exxon Mobil ($403 billion).
Apple’s share price also rose on Friday, (passing the US$500 mark to close at US$508.89), presumably reflecting stockmarket player interest in the announcements Apple is expected to make at a media event it has called for October 22.
