Alphabet Stock Jumps After Earnings Beat, Revenue Surge

Class A shares of Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ: GOOGL) are up 3.3% at $164.52, after the Google and YouTube parent topped Wall Street expectations with its first-quarter report. The company posted earnings of $2.81 per share on revenue of $90.23 billion, beating analyst estimates of $2.01 per share and $89.12 billion.

Overall revenue rose 12% year-over-year, outpacing Wall Street’s 10% growth forecast, as Alphabet’s core search and advertising units continued to show resilience despite growing artificial intelligence (AI) competition. Analyst reactions have been mostly positive, with no fewer than 10 price-target hikes across the tape, including one at Susquehanna to $225 from $220.

The options pits are exploding with activity. Already 236,000 calls and 134,000 puts have crossed the tape -- 5 times the average intraday volume. The most active contract is the weekly 4/25 170-strike call, followed by the 165-strike call in the same series.

The security is now pacing for its best weekly performance since March 2023, as well as its fourth-straight daily gain, though it remains down 13.4% year to date. Shares are trading at their highest level in roughly one month, and just gapped above long-term pressure at their 40-day moving average.