For the first time, Google Inc.’s stock price has smashed through US$600. Moreover, Google Inc. showed why it might not be long before the Internet search leader’s shares are flirting with $700. On the third-quarter results, released Thursday, Google had surpassed analyst expectations and demonstrated why the company has emerged as Silicon Valley’s most prized company with a market value of about $200 billion after just nine years in business.

According Eric Schmidt, Google Chairperson, Google is getting stronger and he is the person that most pleased with Google’s model works. No wonder if the investors are happy. Google shares climbed $6.14 Thursday to finish the regular session at $639.62, pushing the Mountain View-based company’s market value slightly ahead of Cisco Systems Inc.’s in Silicon Valley’s pecking order. Google’s stock then added another $3.88 in after-hours trading.

When Larry Page and Sergey Brin were still toddlers, Microsoft Corp. has started its business and climbed out as the biggest high-tech company. Nowadays, Google Inc. is shadowing Microsoft Corp in just a few step closures and Microsoft Corp. is the only high-tech company that worth more than Google Inc.

Google has earned lot money from its Internet’s most popular advertising network. Some people believe that when Google runs its business with many publishers with unfair sharing portion. Google earns more than 70% of the ads revenues. Nowadays, more and more marketing dollars shift to the Web from television, radio, newspapers and magazines.

On the other hand, long-established media are suffering. For instance, third-quarter advertising revenue at three major newspaper publishers — Gannett Co., McClatchy Co. and Dow Jones & Co. — declined by a combined $125 million, or 6 percent, from the same period last year.

In the third quarter, Google earned $1.07 billion, or $3.38 per share, for the three months ended in September. That was up from net income of $733.4 million, or $2.36 per share, at the same time last year. Moreover, If not for the cost of awarding stock to its steadily expanding work force, Google said it would have earned $3.91 per share. That topped the average estimate of $3.78 per share among analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial.

Revenue for the period totaled $4.23 billion, a 57 percent increase from $2.69 billion last year. After subtracting commissions paid to its thousands of advertising partners, Google’s revenue stood at $3.01 billion — about $70 million above the average analyst estimate.
Google is really an ambitious company; Google has a plan to add another 2,130 employees in the third quarter, more than in any three-month period in its history. Management said the summer additions included about 1,000 hires right out of college and 300 employees inherited in its $625 million acquisition of e-mail specialist Postini Inc.

Eric Schmidt assured analysts that Google is closely monitoring the size of its work force and indicated the hiring will be more modest in the current quarter.
As of Sept. 30, the company’s payroll totaled 15,916 people, including hundreds who have become millionaires.