Google Profit Surges 46 Percent

Google surprised Wall Street Thursday, reporting higher than expected revenue and profits due to increased market share and cost-cutting measures.

For the third quarter, the company reported revenues of $4.23 billion and a profit of $1.07 billion, or about $3.38 per diluted share. This was better than Wall Street estimates of revenue of $4.13 billion and profits of $3.22 per share.

Google was able to continue to grow its market share in the third quarter, ending it with 57 percent market share in September according to comScore. This was up a half a percent from the previous month.

While expenses are still higher than the first quarter -when they were 27 percent of revenue- they are beginning to drop again. Google said its expenses were 30 percent of revenue, down a percentage point from the previous quarter.

Expenses last quarter caused investors to worry that the company may be spending too much money in its continuing expansion. However, investors should also take solace that the Mountain View, Calif. company is growing at a rate four to five times faster than its rivals.

"We are very pleased with the impressive growth we experienced across our business," CEO Eric Schmidt said in a statement announcing the results.

For the fourth quarter, the company is expected to post revenue of anywhere from $4 to 4.29 billion and grow revenues 47 percent, according to estimates compiled by Reuters.