One of the co-founders of the Google is to take over the running of the company again. Larry Page will replace Eric Schmidt as chief executive.
Mr Schmidt had been brought in to provide greater management experience to Google. He has been in the job for a decade and will become executive chairman.
Google said Mr Schmidt would focus on "deals, partnerships, customers and broader business relationships".
The BBC reports the announcement was made as Google unveiled strong net profits in the last three months of $US2.54 billion on revenues of $US8.44 billion.
The $US2.54 billion profit compares with $US1.97 billion in the same quarter the year before.
Mr Page, 37, is reclaiming the job he relinquished to Mr Schmidt, 55, when investors called for a more experienced business leader.
Mr Schmidt said the changes take effect on 4 April.
Shares of Google rose about 2% to $639 in after-hours trading on Wall Street on Friday. The company now has a market value of about $US200 billion.
