Google just added more than $60 billion to its market capitalization.
The company’s stock closed at $699.62 Friday (July 17), an all-time high for the search giant, up about 16% on the day. The company’s market cap is now approximately $478 billion, according to FactSet.
It was a monumental day for Google and its shareholders. Bloomberg said it was the biggest one-day gain in value ever for a U.S. company, besting the $46 billion Apple added in April 2012. The Wall Street Journal has some different numbers, saying Cisco remains the all-time one-day gain champ.
The surge comes on the heels of Google’s better-than-expected earnings reported yesterday. In the second quarter, the company generated $3.93 billion in profit, up 17% year-over-year, on $17.73 billion in revenue. This was the first time Google beat analyst expectations in six quarters.
Executives attributed YouTube as one of the main drivers of the company’s growth, citing a 60% rise in viewing time. Chief financial officer Ruth Porat also told investors that it would be reining in its spending.
As a result of Google’s performance, at least 27 brokerages raised their targets for the company’s stock. In an analyst note sent out today, Bernstein Research said it believes shares can reach $800 in the next 12 months, citing its strength in search, infrastructure, artificial intelligence, as well as Google’s ”willingness to invest for the long term.”