Google profits surge despite ad price slump

SAN FRANCISCO Google's (GOOG) earnings climbed 36 percent despite a deepening slump in its average ad prices as more people connect to its search engine and other services on mobile devices.

The results released Thursday exceeded the analyst projections that steer investors. Google's stock surged 6 percent to $943.90 after the numbers came out.

Google earned nearly $3 billion, or $8.75 per share, during the three months ending in September. That compared to income of $2.2 billion, or $6.53 per share, at the same time last year.

Google had another strong quarter with $14.9 billion in revenue and great product progress," said Google CEO Larry Page in a statement.

The Mountain View, California-based company's average ad price has declined from the prior year in each of the last eight quarters primarily because advertisers aren't yet paying as much for mobile ads.

Revenue rose 12 percent from last year to $14.9 billion.