By Eric Auchard
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - GOOGLE (GOOG.NQ)Inc
Web traffic and revenue growth were strong in all major parts of the world, Chief Executive Eric Schmidt said in a statement.
"While we are realistic about the poor state of the global economy, we will continue to manage Google for the long term," he said.
Investors applauded the beat and said it showed Google was doing better than its rivals.
"In this environment, it's enough to send the stock zooming," said Colin Gillis, an analyst at Canaccord Adams. "Even in a down market, advertisers are going to be seeking customers. These results separate out Google from the eBays
Net income for the third quarter rose to $1.35 billion, or $4.24 a diluted share, from $1.07 billion, or $3.38 per share.
Excluding employee stock compensation costs and one-time items, profit rose to $1.56 billion, or $4.92 per diluted share from $1.47 billion, or $4.63 per share, a year earlier and topped Wall Street's target of $4.75, according to Reuters Estimates.
Revenue, including commissions paid to affiliated advertising sites, totaled $5.54 billion, up 31 percent from the year-earlier quarter but up only 3 percent from the second quarter of this year.
Analysts, on average, were looking for gross revenue to reach $5.57 billion, according to Reuters Estimates. Forecasts had called for revenue growth to range from 26 percent to 37 percent.
Shares of Google rose 6 percent to $374.53 in after-hours trade following the report, building further on a 4.1 percent gain in regular trading on Nasdaq, when it closed at $353.02 after a seesaw trading day.
"While it won't be immune from the economic downturn, the valuation is very competitive, and at the same time, Yahoo, its biggest competitor, is struggling. So from a competitive stance, they're great," said Greg Woodard, portfolio strategist at Manning & Napier Advisors, who added that many on Wall Street had expected the results to miss published analyst targets.
(Reporting by Eric Auchard, Gabriel Madway, Alexandria Sage in San Francisco and Yinka Adegoke in New York; Editing by Phil Berlowitz)
