Google has posted a quarterly profit nearly six times higher than a year earlier amid rapid growth in search advertising.
Google's first-quarter net income rose to $369.2 million, or $1.29 a share, from $64.0 million, or 24 cents a share, a year earlier.
Profit from the most recent quarter included a $49 million charge for stock-based compensation. Gross revenue nearly doubled to $1.26 billion from $651.6 million.
The results easily topped Wall Street's average net profit target of 78 cents a share. Analysts had seen profit excluding some items at 92 cents and revenue at $1.16 billion, according to Reuters Estimates.
The results sent shares of the leader in the $8 billion global web search market up nearly 10 per cent to $223.77 in after-hours trade to set a new record.
More consumers clicked on its search ads, more advertisers moved to the web in the United States and abroad, and company costs fell, Google said.
"Outstanding is the only way to describe the results," said Robert Lutts, chief investment officer at Cabot Money Management Inc. "They have people all over the world clicking and paying."
Google's rivals in the global search market include Yahoo and Microsoft Corp.'s MSN Internet unit, but unlike those competitors, nearly all of Google's revenue comes from ads that are triggered when web users type certain key words into its search engine.
Internet search providers make money when web surfers click on ads.