Alphabet- Google's parent company- has surpassed
Apple as the world's most valuable company after its latest earnings report.
The company made a profit of $4.9bn (£3.4bn) for
the fourth quarter, an increase from $4.7bn a year ago.
The announcement sent its share price up as much
as 9% in after-hours trading.
That means that Alphabet is now worth around
$568bn, compared with Apple, which has a value of $535bn.
It is the first time that Alphabet has separated
out the results of its Google business - which includes the search engine and
YouTube - from its "Other Bets" business, which includes more
experimental ventures such as self-driving cars and internet balloon programs.
On an annual basis, Alphabet made $16.3bn but the
figures show that the "Other Bets" business lost $3.6bn during the
period, while Google's operating income rose to $23.4bn, as online advertising
increased.
"It looks like Google continues to execute on
mobile [advertising]," said Neil Doshi managing director of research at
Mizuho Securities.
"Two or three years ago mobile was a big head
wind for Google. There were concerns that it [had] a negative impact on its
desktop business, but as mobile takes over for more searches, mobile ads are
becoming closer in value to the desktop ads."
Alphabet's claiming of the most valuable company
title has been seen by some as a passing of the technology baton.
Apple became the United States' most valuable
company in 2010, when it dislodged Microsoft. Microsoft in turn overtook IBM
two decades earlier.
UK sales
Meanwhile, in the UK, revenue rose 16% to $1.92bn
in the fourth quarter. It is the only territory outside the US for which the
company breaks down its figures because it is such a large part of the
business.
The company is currently at the centre of a tax
row in the UK after it agreed to pay £130m in back taxes that stretch back to
2005. The agreement was seen by some as too lenient for the internet giant.
Source: BBC
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