Alphabet's Q1 Earnings Surge: AI Drives Growth Across Google Services and Cloud

What's Going On With Google Parent Alphabet Stock Friday? - Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Alphabet Inc. GOOGL shares are trading higher on Friday after the company reported better-than-expected first-quarter earnings on Thursday after the market closed. What To Know: Alphabet reported adjusted earnings per share of $2.81, beating analysts' estimate of $2.01. In addition, the company reported sales of $90.23 billion, beating analysts' estimate of $88.87 billion and representing a 12% year-over-year growth. Alphabet attributed the revenue growth to strong performance in Google Search and other, YouTube ads, Google subscriptions, devices and platforms and Google Cloud. The company broke down revenue further. It said Google Services revenue rose 10% to $77.3 billion, driven by higher activity in Search & Other, subscriptions, platforms and devices and YouTube ads. Additionally, Google Cloud revenue grew 28% to $12.3 billion, driven by growth in Google Cloud Platform products and AI infrastructure and solutions. Alphabet also increased its quarterly dividend by 5% to 21 cents per share. Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google, said, "We're pleased with our strong Q1 results, which reflect healthy growth and momentum across the business. Underpinning this growth is our unique full stack approach to AI. This quarter was super exciting as we rolled out Gemini 2.5, our most intelligent AI model, which is achieving breakthroughs in performance and is an extraordinary foundation for our future innovation. Search saw continued strong growth, boosted by the engagement we're seeing with features like AI Overviews, which now has 1.5 billion users per month. Driven by YouTube and Google One, we surpassed 270 million paid subscriptions. And Cloud grew rapidly with significant demand for our solutions." Analyst Changes: Following the earnings report, multiple analysts issued price target adjustments. Piper Sandler analyst Thomas Champion maintained an Overweight rating on Alphabet and raised the price target from $185 to $195. B of A Securities analyst Justin Post maintained a Buy rating on Alphabet and raised the price target from $185 to $200. Wells Fargo analyst Ken Gawrelski maintained an Equal-Weight rating on Alphabet and raised the price target from $167 to $175. Rosenblatt analyst Barton Crockett maintained a Neutral rating on Alphabet and lowered the price target from $205 to $189. Related Link: Bitcoin Fundamentally Decoupled From US Tech Stocks, BlackRock's Jay Jacobs Says GOOGL Price Action: At the time of writing, Alphabet shares are trading 2.75% higher at $163.71, according to data from Benzinga Pro. Image: via Shutterstock GOOGLAlphabet Inc$162.912.28%Stock Score Locked: Want to See it? Benzinga Rankings give you vital metrics on any stock - anytime. Reveal Full ScoreEdge RankingsMomentum53.18Growth64.44Quality-Value51.39Price TrendShortMediumLongOverviewGot Questions? AskWhich companies will benefit from Google Cloud growth?How might YouTube ads impact advertising firms?Will AI advancements drive tech investments further?Who else is affected by Alphabet's earnings surge?How should investors view Alphabet's dividend increase?Could competitors struggle after Alphabet's success?What opportunities exist in AI infrastructure investments?How will strong subscription growth affect market valuations?Which analysts see potential in Alphabet's stock?What sectors could thrive due to Google's innovations?Powered ByMarket News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs

Why Alphabet Stock Is Rising Today | The Motley Fool

Alphabet (GOOGL 1.70%) (GOOG 1.52%) stock is closing out the week's trading with another round of solid gains. The company's share price was up 1.6% as of 3:20 p.m. ET Friday and had been up as much as 4.3% earlier in the session. Alphabet published its first-quarter results after the market closed yesterday and delivered sales and earnings for the period that came in ahead of the average Wall Street targets. The business posted non-GAAP (adjusted) earnings per share of $2.81 on sales of $90.23 billion, topping the average analyst estimate's call for per share earnings of $2.01 on revenue of $89.15 billion. Alphabet reported a substantial sales beat in the first quarter, with stronger-than-expected performance for the advertising business helping to offset a small shortfall in sales from the company's Google Cloud infrastructure services business. Artificial intelligence (AI) services helped push ads revenue up to $66.8 billion, topping Wall Street's call for sales of $66.4 billion. And despite sales of $12.26 billion for Google Cloud falling slightly short of Wall Street's forecast, the unit still grew 28% year over year in the period. Alphabet's beat on profitability was even more impressive. Along with strong first-quarter results, Alphabet's management delivered reassurances that the company's business can continue to be resilient in the face of macroeconomic challenges and regulatory pressures that might eventually result in some of its business units being spun off. The company's big first-quarter earnings beat delivered encouraging signs of operational efficiency. With sales performance for the period also coming in significantly better than anticipated, Alphabet is showing that its growth engine remains strong and is seeing tangible benefits from AI.