Alphabet shares soar on Q1 results, first-ever dividend
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The news: Google's parent Alphabet announced its first-ever dividend and a USD70 billion ($107 billion) stock buyback, as the group's first-quarter results saw shares rocket in after-hours trading on the Nasdaq.
The numbers: Alphabet announced a dividend of 20 US cents per share, after beating expectations for the first quarter across sales, profit and advertising.
The group reported Q1 revenue of USD80.5 billion, up 15% year on year, and earnings per share of USD1.89, compared to USD1.17 a year prior. Revenue from Google advertising rose 13% compared to the prior corresponding period to USD61.7 billion.
The company also authorised the repurchase of up to USD70 billion in stock, matching the repurchase of one year ago.
Shares climbed as much as 16% in extended trading, increasing its stock market value by around USD300 billion to more than USD2 trillion.
Alphabet's shares were up 11.59% to $176.3 by 8:42am AEST.
The context: Alphabet's March quarter beat analysts' expectations, after a challenging period for the group. Earlier this month, Google fired dozens of employees after they protested the tech giant’s contract to provide the Israeli government and military with cloud and AI services. In January, Alphabet shares plunged after fourth-quarter advertising revenue failed to meet expectations.
What they said: Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai said: "Our results in the first quarter reflect strong performance from Search, YouTube and Cloud. We are well under way with our Gemini era and there's great momentum across the company".
"Our leadership in AI research and infrastructure, and our global product footprint, position us well for the next wave of AI innovation," he said.
The source: Alphabet media release
