Alphabet (GOOGL, Financial), Google's parent company, reported its first-quarter 2025 earnings, surpassing market expectations and driving a post-market stock price increase of over 5%. The company achieved revenue of $90.23 billion, exceeding analysts' estimates of $89.12 billion, and reported earnings per share (EPS) of $2.81, significantly above the anticipated $2.01.
Despite slightly lower-than-expected revenues from YouTube ads and Google Cloud, both segments showed robust growth, with year-over-year increases of 8.5% and 28%, respectively. Alphabet's overall advertising revenue rose to $66.89 billion, a growth of 8.5%, with "Search and Other" revenue particularly strong at $50.7 billion, a 9.8% increase from the previous year.
Alphabet's AI tools have significantly contributed to its search business, with monthly active users reaching 1.5 billion. However, Chief Business Officer Philipp Schindler cautioned about global economic uncertainties and potential impacts on ad spending due to changes in U.S. import tax policies.
Net profit for the quarter was $34.54 billion, a 46% increase, partly due to $8 billion in unrealized gains from private equity investments. Alphabet announced a $32 billion acquisition of cybersecurity firm Wiz, marking its largest purchase to date, and plans for $75 billion in capital expenditures and a $70 billion stock buyback.
