Google Revenue Soars, Profits Double

Google's revenues soared in the second quarter, helped along by strong results in its search and advertising business. The Mountain View, Calif. company reported $2.46 billion in revenue, up 77 percent from last year and nine percent from the previous quarter.

Profits also jumped from last year, with Google reporting $721 million in income versus $342.8 million in the year ago quarter. Split by type, Google-owned sites comprised 58 percent of revenues, or $1.43 billion, a 94 percent increase over last year. Network sites contributed $997 million or 41 percent, which was a 58 percent increase.

"Google grew at an impressive pace during a seasonally slower quarter," CEO Eric Schmidt said. "We continue to deliver valuable new products and services to users around the world through our partnerships and investments in our business."

As the company moves into the third quarter, it plans to hire aggressively and pursue new distribution deals, it said in a conference call with analysts. Additionally, its office space strategy is changing from leasing to buying the land that it locates its facilities on.

Executives warned that Google's aggressive spending may cut into profit margins, but the company apparently feels it is necessary in order to grow the business.

The search giant remains the top search portal by far: it accounts for over half of all web searches.