Alphabet Revenue Jumps 22 Pct, Beating Expectations

SAN JOSE (California), April 30 (Bernama-dpa) -- Alphabet, Google's parent company, on Wednesday reported revenue growth of 22 per cent in the first quarter to approximately US$109.9 billion, exceeding analysts' expectations, reported German Press Agency (dpa).

Wall Street had expected revenue of just over US$107 billion on average.

The tech giant's quarterly profit rose to US$62.6 billion from US$34.5 billion a year earlier.

Google and Alphabet chief executive officer Sundar Pichai said that the quarter saw a record number of search queries. 

Investors have been closely watching Google's advertising business as the company introduces more AI-generated summaries into its search engine, which can answer user queries directly, mirroring new rivals.

That shift could reduce incentives for users to click on links alongside search results.

Alphabet, however, said that it had instead led to increased usage.

Google's advertising revenue, the company’s main source of income, rose 15.5 per cent year-over-year to US$77.25 billion in the past quarter. 

The cloud business, meanwhile, jumped by a solid 63 per cent to US$20 billion.

Like other tech giants, Alphabet is pouring tens of billions of dollars into expanding its artificial intelligence infrastructure.

The range for capital investments this year has been raised from the previous US$175-US$185 billion to the current US$180-US$190 billion. 

Spending is expected to rise further in 2027, said chief financial officer Anat Ashkenazi in a conference call with analysts.

-- BERNAMA-dpa