Google share price jumps past US$1,000
New earnings report spurs 14pc jump into rare 4-figure territory, soaring from 2004's US$85
Google has done something few companies ever do in the stock market: It has joined the US$1,000 club.
On Friday, Google's share price jumped above that amount for the first time, marking another milestone in its remarkable ascent from US$85 in its public offering in 2004.
It is a reminder of the new order that has taken hold in the technology world in just a few years - and how far apart the winners are from the losers.
By comparison, the overall Nasdaq composite rose 120 per cent, while Microsoft - 10 years ago the most feared giant in technology - gained just 28 per cent.
Friday's gain made Google, already one of the world's most valuable companies, one of the few in which buying a single share costs more than US$1,000.
Google was the second company on the S&P 500 list to top US$1,000. Online travel firm Priceline was first past the post last month, soaring to US$1,074; it closed at US$1,048 on Friday.
The rally also sent Google's market capitalisation to US$337.39 billion, making it the third-largest publicly traded company behind ExxonMobil and Apple.
Outside of the S&P 500, only a couple have such massive prices: Berkshire Hathaway's A-class shares, at US$175,748, trade just a few hundred shares daily; Seaboard Corp, at US$2,810.98, also only trades a few times daily.
It is unlikely that Google shares will stay above US$1,000 for very long. The company plans to issue a new class of stock that will likely cut the value of the shares in half, though its market capitalisation will be unaffected.
