Google adds a record $60 billion to its stock in one day

The search-engine giant added $65 billion to its market capitalization today, more than the size of Hewlett-Packard Co.

The surge, following earnings that topped analyst estimates, is the biggest one-day gain in value ever for a US company, according to data compiled by S&P Dow Jones Indices.

Apple Inc held the previous record, with a $46.4 billion surge in April 2012.

Google’s rally pushed the Mountain View, California-based company further ahead of Microsoft Corp. in rankings of the world’s biggest companies, sending its value to about $468 billion compared with the software giant’s $377 billion.

The shares are up 26 percent in five days, the biggest one-week advance since it went public in 2004.

“This is a pretty decisive breakout to the stock after it’s been range-bound for a while,” said Walter Todd, who oversees about $1 billion, including Google shares, as chief investment officer for Greenwood Capital Associates LLC in Greenwood, South Carolina.

“It’s a good feeling. The move in market cap is just insane.”

Apple remains the world’s largest company at about $746 billion.

Google shares rose 16 percent to a record $699.62 at 4 p.m. in New York, providing 39 points of the Nasdaq Composite Index’s 47-point gain for the day.

Thursday’s report marked the first time since 2013 that Google has announced quarterly adjusted earnings per share higher than expectations.