Alphabet Exceeds Earnings Expectations, Announces First Dividend

Published 5 hours agoGOOGL

Alphabet Exceeds Earnings Expectations, Announces First Dividend

Alphabet Inc. has recently delivered robust financial results and revealed plans to return value to shareholders, bolstering its position as a potential growth stock. The search giant reported a 15% rise in revenue to $80.54 billion for the first quarter, beating analyst forecasts of $78.59 billion. Net income surged by an impressive 57.2% to $23.66 billion, translating to $1.89 per share and exceeding expectations of $1.51 per share.

In particular, the strong performance was driven by a 13% increase in advertising revenue, which reached $61.7 billion thanks to Google Search and YouTube's solid results. Additionally, Google Cloud saw a 28% expansion in revenue, largely due to growing demand for AI-related services. Reuters highlighted that these advances in advertising and cloud services have effectively aided Alphabet in maintaining its competitive edge in the tech sector.

Alphabet has taken steps to reward its shareholders by declaring a $0.20 cash dividend per share, marking the company's first-ever dividend payout. Furthermore, it has authorized a substantial $70 billion stock repurchase program, signaling confidence in its continued financial health. The company remains deeply invested in artificial intelligence, which enhances its suite of products, including AI Overviews that now serve 1.5 billion users monthly.

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