Google Parent Alphabet Reports Strong Profit; Shares Up 6%

(RTTNews) - Alphabet Inc., (GOOG, GOOGL), the parent company of Google, Monday reported an increase in profit for the fourth quarter, driven mostly by growth at mobile search revenue as well strong performance of YouTube.

Both earnings and revenues for the quarter trumped Wall Street analysts' estimates, sending shares of Alphabet up by nearly 6 percent in the after-hours trading. The pop in shares helped Google's parent to surpass Apple Inc. (AAPL) as the most valuable publicly-traded company in the world.

Commenting on the results, Financial Chief Ruth Porat said, "Our very strong revenue growth in Q4 reflects the vibrancy of our business, driven by mobile search as well as YouTube and programmatic advertising, all areas in which we've been investing for many years."

Alphabet's fourth-quarter profit rose to $4.92 billion or $7.06 per share from $4.68 billion or $6.79 per share last year.

Adjusted earnings for the quarter rose to $6.04 billion or $8.67 per share from $4.65 billion or $6.76 per share last year. On average, 45 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters estimated earnings of $8.10 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Revenues for the quarter rose 18 percent to $21.33 billion from $18.10 billion last year. Analysts had a consensus revenue estimate of $20.77 billion last year.

Last August, Google announced its plans to create a new public holding company, Alphabet, and a new operating structure.

Google said aggregate paid clicks increased 31 percent year-over-year, while aggregate cost-per-click fell 13 percent year-over-year.

GOOGL closed Monday's trading at $770.77, up $9.42 or 1.24%, on the Nasdaq. The stock further gained $45.33 or 5.88% in the after-hours trade.