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Google stock hits new record, closes above $800

The sky-high stock price comes amid rumors the search giant is planning to build retail stores.

Casey.jpg
Casey.jpg
Casey Newton Former Senior Writer
Casey Newton writes about Google for CNET, which he joined in 2012 after covering technology for the San Francisco Chronicle. He is really quite tall.
Casey Newton
CBS News/Google

Google's stock closed at an all-time high of $806.85 today, becoming the first tech firm to pass the $800 mark and signaling that Wall Street approves of the company's rumored move into retail stores.

The stock has jumped 14 percent since the start of the year, more than double the Nasdaq's 6.4 percent gain. Its record high comes amid a report, since echoed by the Wall Street Journal, that Google planned to open retail stores to showcase its hardware products. The stores could open by the end of the year, according to the original report in the 9to5 blog network.

Google also posted strong fourth-quarter earnings, as the company reached $50 billion in annual revenue for the first time.

The Wall Street Journal reports that only three other companies have stock priced higher: Berkshire Hathaway's Class A shares, Seaboard, and NVR.