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Alphabet Beats Forecast, Cloud Revenue Soars 63%, Shares Jump 7%

4/30/2026

46 6 Full Breakdown

Summary

Alphabet Cloud Surge

Alphabet reported Q1 2026 revenue of $109.9 billion, surpassing the $107.2 billion forecast.
Google Cloud generated $20 billion, a 63% year-over-year increase and far above the 50.1% estimate.
Cloud operating income rose to $6.6 billion, three times the amount a year earlier.
Shares jumped more than 7% after hours as investors praised the AI-driven cloud surge.
Net income climbed 81% to $62.6 billion, giving diluted EPS of $5.11.

Summary

Meta Blocked

Meta’s $2 billion acquisition of AI firm Manus was blocked by Chinese regulators, halting the deal.
Meta cut about 8,000 jobs, roughly 10% of its workforce, this year.
Microsoft launched its first employee buyout program in over five decades, offering voluntary retirements to U.S. workers.
Amazon pledged a $200 billion AI-infrastructure spend for 2026, supporting deals with OpenAI, Anthropic and other startups.

History

Historical Context

In 2005 IBM launched the DeepQA-based Watson project, a follow-up to its 1997 Deep Blue triumph. After years of testing, Watson beat champions Brad Rutter and Ken Jennings on Jeopardy! in February 2011, winning the $1 million prize. That high-profile win sparked a wave of corporate AI spending, now echoed by Google, Meta and Amazon.

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Alphabet Cloud Surge

Alphabet reported Q1 2026 revenue of $109.9 billion, surpassing the $107.2 billion forecast.
Google Cloud generated $20 billion, a 63% year-over-year increase and far above the 50.1% estimate.
Cloud operating income rose to $6.6 billion, three times the amount a year earlier.
Shares jumped more than 7% after hours as investors praised the AI-driven cloud surge.
Net income climbed 81% to $62.6 billion, giving diluted EPS of $5.11.

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