Google hits an all-time high, catching up to Exxon

Google (GOOG) has continued to rise even as every investor under the sun waits for the “tech bubble” to burst, and has surpassed most others in the sector, including Microsoft (MSFT), which it blew by earlier this year.

Now, Google has hit an all-time high as of Tuesday, with its market value sitting currently at about $350 billion. If you’re scoring at home, this makes Google the third-largest company in the United States, with Exxon Mobil (XOM, $385.4 billion) and Apple (AAPL, $462.3 billion) as the only two remaining companies it hasn’t caught up to.

Last month, Google passed Microsoft in dramatic fashion, gaining $40 billion of market value in a single day after positive earnings reports came about. And this is typical of Google, as the company’s stock has gone up over 50% over the course of the year. Meanwhile, Exxon has risen only 9%. With that kind of track record, it’s not impossible to imagine Google becoming the #2 company in the United States in a year or two.

So, what do we make of the concerns over a slowing tech sector? It’s true that longtime stalwarts like Microsoft, IBM (IBM), Cisco (CSCO) and others have not grown as investors would have liked, but innovation leads to growth, and that’s where Google has profited. Apple is doing well, largely for the same reasons, although they’re not surging like Google has lately. It’s like with sharks- keep swimming or die.