Web search titan Google Inc. (GOOG) said late Thursday that its third quarter profit grew 27% from last year, helped by higher ''paid clicks'' on its web advertisements.
The Mountain View, California-based company reported third quarter net income of $1.64 billion, or $5.13 per share, compared with $1.29 billion, or $4.06 per share, in the year-ago period. Excluding one-time items, adjusted profit was $5.89 per share.
Revenue jumped 8.4% from last year to $4.38 billion.
On average, Wall Street analysts expected a lower profit of $5.42 per share, on smaller revenue of $4.24 billion.
CEO Eric Schmidt said in a conference call that ''the worst of the recession is clearly behind us,'' and that the company was ''very, very happy'' with the quarterly results. The company said its paid clicks on web advertisements rose 14% from last year, or 4% on a sequential basis from the second quarter.
Google shares rose $18.13, or +3.4%, in premarket trading Friday.
The Bottom Line
Shares of GOOG are breaking through 52-week highs of $535 a share. The stock has near-term technical support on any pullback to the $485-$500 price area. If the shares can build further momentum, we see near-term overhead resistance around the $550-$565 price levels. We do not currently rate this non-dividend paying stock, but we do follow this internet giant closely.
Google Inc. (GOOG) does not currently pay a dividend.
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