Alphabet shares shot up on Friday morning after the company posted better-than-expected first-quarter results and greenlit its first-ever dividend along with a $70 billion buyback.
The company on Thursday reported revenue of $80.54 billion, a 15% increase from a year earlier and the fastest growth rate since early 2022, surpassing the $78.59 billion in sales expected by analysts polled by LSEG. Earnings of $1.89 per share eclipsed the $1.51 in earnings per share expected by Wall Street.
"Google is in the sweet spot of accelerating growth, expanding margins while shipping product faster, and returning capital — basically proving the naysayers wrong," they wrote in a Thursday note. "The momentum should stay strong for a while here."