Google reported third-quarter financial results last night, and blew away the estimates of analysts. The company has certainly proved its business model — the proof of the pudding is in the eating. I would not touch the stock at these levels ($340/share), and there is hot competition from Yahoo! and MSN, but I would not doubt Google’s future viability as a profitable company:

Late Thursday, Mountain View, Calif.-based Google reported its quarterly net income rose more than sevenfold to $381 million, or a $1.32 a share. Excluding certain charges, Google earned $437 million, or $1.51 a share, topping analysts’ forecasts of $1.37.

Google also said sales grew 96% to $1.578 billion, of which 39% came from international markets. Excluding the commissions Google pays to its distribution partners, net revenue rose 110% to $1.05 billion, exceeding analysts’ consensus estimate of $942 million, and even more aggressive estimates of $979 million.