Google parent Alphabet jumps to record as strong ad sales push 1st-quarter results past Wall Street's forecasts

• Alphabet shares hit all-time highs Wednesday following first-quarter results that beat expectations.
• Earnings of $26.29 per share came in higher than the $15.82 per share estimate from Refinitiv.
• Alphabet also got authorization from its board to repurchase up to an additional $50 billion of its shares.

Shares of Google parent Alphabet hit record intraday highs on Wednesday after the company posted first-quarter earnings and revenue that beat Wall Street expectations. The tech giant was also authorized by its board to repurchase up to an additional $50 billion of its own stock.

A 34% rise in revenue supported by stronger advertising sales helped the company blow past analyst estimates.

Earnings were $26.29 per share, well above the Refinitiv estimate of $15.82 per share and earnings of $9.87 per share a year earlier.

Total revenue of $55.31 billion was ahead of the $51.70 billion estimate from Refinitiv. A year ago, revenue was $44.16 billion. The increase reflected consumer activity online and broad-based ad revenue growth, the company said.

Traffic acquisition costs came in at $9.71 billion, up from $7.45 billion a year earlier.

The stock climbed as much as 5% to $2,397 per share. It's gained 31% year-to-date, driven in part by investors expecting the company to benefit from increased use of search services amid the pandemic.

"Over the last year, people have turned to Google Search and many online services to stay informed, connected and entertained. We've continued our focus on delivering trusted services to help people around the world," said Sundar Pichai, Alphabet's CEO, in a statement.

Revenue from Google Search rose to $31.9 billion from $24.5 billion and YouTube ads drew in $6 billion, up from $4 billion in the prior period.

"We see a permanent shift to digital drawing ever more ad dollars, with particular strength in YouTube as it is the new TV of this decade. Further, we see real momentum across Google as the global economy re-opens in stages and marketing budgets ramp up," said Brent Thill, an equity analyst at Jefferies, in a note.