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17 July 2015
- From the section Business
Google shares soared to all-time highs on Friday with the tech giant adding an instant $50bn to its market value at the start of Wall Street trading.
Google’s shares rose 15% as investors cheered profit figures that showed strong advertising growth on mobiles and its YouTube arm.
The price rise took the company’s market size well above $400bn (£256bn).
The search giant’s market capitalisation makes it second only to Apple, which is valued at $745bn.
On Thursday, after trading closed, Google reported that second-quarter net income was $3.93bn in the three months to end-June, up from $3.35bn for the quarter a year earlier.
Finance chief Ruth Porat highlighted the growth in mobile advertising and time people are spending streaming video’s on YouTube.
She said YouTube has more than one billion users and that the number of people in the key 18-49 age group who watch its videos on mobile devices was greater than the number watching cable television.
Reuters reported that at least 27 broking firms raised their price targets for Google shares, with one predicting that the stock could rise as high as $800. In late morning trading the price was $688.
Deutsche Bank issued a research note on the profit figures called “Dawn of a New Era?” – adding that it “feels like it”.
