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Following the release of its earnings report, Alphabet, the parent company of Google, experienced an increase in its stock price as it surpassed the anticipated earnings and revealed its plan to repurchase $70 billion worth of stocks. As per FactSet's data, Alphabet recorded earnings of $1.17 per share in the first quarter, surpassing the predicted value of $1.08. Additionally, the company's revenue of $69.79 billion exceeded the projected $68.89 billion.
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Alphabet also announced that their cloud segment's revenue had grown by 28% to reach $7.41 billion. Meanwhile, Google's advertising revenue, which comprised of $6.69 billion from YouTube ads and $40.36 billion from Google Search & related revenue, amounted to a total of $54.55 billion, with Google Network revenue contributing $7.5 billion.
Why it matters
At the quarterly earnings call, CEO Sundar Pichai highlighted the company's AI investments and listed various present and upcoming applications of the technology, including enhanced searches and advertising features. Meanwhile, Chief Financial Officer Ruth Porat acknowledged the persisting challenges of the economic environment affecting the results. However, she expressed optimism for the second quarter, citing favorable current spot rates and a projected decrease in foreign exchange headwinds. Porat also emphasized the company's efforts to balance operating expense growth with strategic investments in AI and other critical areas.
