SAN FRANCISCO – Web search leader Google Inc. (GOOG) Tuesday posted a higher quarterly profit as revenue doubled, thanks to strong Web search advertising during the holidays.
Shares in Google shot up above $200 after the company reported net income of $204.1 million, or 71 cents a share, in the fourth quarter, compared with $27.3 million, or 10 cents a share, a year earlier.
Total revenue jumped to $1.03 billion from $512.2 million, beating estimates.
"Revenue is well ahead of anybody's expectations," said Barry Randall, portfolio manager of the $100 million First American Technology Fund (search).
Google, based in Mountain View, Calif., went public in mid-August. Shares, which debuted at $85, rallied in after-hours trade following the results to trade at $201.60, compared with their Nasdaq (search) close of $191.90.
The company won users with its elegant technology that took Web search to a new level. But Google is best loved by investors for popularizing its own flavor of Web search advertising, a business that now fuels virtually all of its revenue.
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