<p>Shares in Google parent company Alphabet surged 10% on Friday and broke the $2 trillion market cap level. The company is now worth $2.15 trillion after shares hit an all-time high following its first quarter earnings announcement.</p>
<p>Alphabet also announced it will pay a dividend for the first time ever. The company&#8217;s Board of Directors approved a cash dividend of $0.20 per share that will be paid on June 17, 2024, to stockholders of record as of June 10, 2024, on each of the company’s Class A, Class B, and Class C shares. The company says it intends to pay quarterly cash dividends in the future, subject to review and approval by the company’s Board of Directors in its sole discretion.</p>
<p>The company will also buy back up to $70 billion in Class A and C stock, adding to the stock surge Friday.</p>
<p>Alphabet reported first quarter revenues of $80.5 billion, a 15% increase from a year ago. Google and YouTube advertising accounted for $61.6 billion of total revenues. Net income was $23.6 billion.</p>
<p>Sundar Pichai, CEO of Alphabet, said: “Our results in the first quarter reflect strong performance from Search, YouTube and Cloud. We are well under way with our Gemini era and there’s great momentum across the company. Our leadership in AI research and infrastructure, and our global product footprint, position us well for the next wave of AI innovation.”</p>
<p>Ruth Porat, President and Chief Investment Officer; CFO said: “Our strong financial results for the first quarter reflect revenue strength across the company and ongoing efforts to durably reengineer our cost base. We delivered revenues of $80.5 billion, up 15% year-on-year, and operating margin expansion.”</p>
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