Google surges after buying back billions of dollars of its own stock

Alphabet, the parent company of Google, saw its stock surge after announcing a cash dividend and a share buyback. The company reported better-than-expected sales and profits for the first quarter of the year. Revenue reached over $80.5 billion, up 15% from the previous year, with profits growing by 57% to nearly $23.7 billion. Alphabet attributed its success to investments in artificial intelligence, particularly its large language model and AI products known as Gemini. Tech companies investing in AI, like Google, are being rewarded by investors. Other tech firms, such as Snap and Microsoft, also reported positive earnings, signaling the benefits of AI investments.