Alphabet Inc., the parent company of Google, announced a significant $70 billion share buyback plan alongside a 5% increase in its dividend, following the release of its first-quarter earnings report on Thursday, which exceeded Wall Street’s projections.
Following the announcement, Alphabet’s stock experienced a 4% surge in after-hours trading, effectively adding around $75 billion to the company’s market capitalization.
The positive earnings report was primarily attributed to a robust performance in its digital advertising sector, which helped mitigate slower growth within its cloud computing division.
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Concerns regarding a potential economic downturn, fueled by U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade policy, have caused businesses to reconsider their advertising expenditures. Nonetheless, industry analysts observed that the digital advertising market remained resilient during the first quarter.
Revenue from Google’s primary advertising segment, which accounts for approximately 75% of its overall revenue, grew by 8.5% to reach $66.89 billion, a decrease from the previous quarter’s 10.6% increase but still surpassing analysts’ expectations of a 7.7% rise.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GOOGL | ALPHABET INC. | 159.28 | +3.93 | +2.53% |
Meanwhile, Google Cloud reported a revenue increase of 28% to $12.26 billion, although this marked a slowdown from the 30.1% growth seen in the prior quarter. Analysts had anticipated revenue figures of around $12.27 billion for the cloud segment, according to data compiled by LSEG.
The total revenue for Alphabet in the first quarter stood at $90.23 billion, exceeding the mean projection of $89.12 billion from analysts tracked by LSEG.
Net income for the quarter was recorded at $34.54 billion, significantly higher than Wall Street’s expectation of $24.85 billion.
