Alphabet shares rose after it reported double-digit increases in first-quarter revenue and profit, driven by another good performance in its search business and the boom in artificial intelligence-related demand for cloud computing.
Revenue rose 12 per cent to $90.2bn, while net income jumped 46 per cent to $34.5bn, from the same period a year earlier, the parent company of Google reported on Thursday. Both beat expectations and helped calm fears about its ability to weather a trade war and US recession.
Google’s core search and advertising business grew almost 10 per cent to $50.7bn in the quarter, surpassing estimates for between 8 per cent and 9 per cent.