Traffic acquisition costs rose, which is a category that Google would prefer to see decline. It cost the company $13 billion to attract traffic to its sites, 10.5% higher than the $11.7 billion it cost Google during the same quarter last year. Headcount declined 5.1% from 190,711 to 180,895.
Google Search had a strong first quarter
Overall first-quarter revenue was $80.5 billion compared to the $69.8 billion generated a year ago. That works out to a solid 15.4% hike in revenue for Google. And income also had a big increase rising from $17.4 billion during the first quarter last year to the $25.5 billion reported for this year’s first quarter. That is a very strong 46.3% gain in income year-over-year. Diluted earnings-per-share of $1.89 were 62% higher than the $1.17 per-share figure reported for the same quarter in 2023.
As a result of the strong report, Alphabet announced a cash dividend for the first time of 20 cents per share that will be paid on June 17, 2024, to stockholders of record as of June 10, 2024. Stockholders of the company’s Class A, Class B, and Class C shares will be eligible to receive the dividend that Alphabet plans to continue to pay every quarter.
After declining $3.15 or 1.96% to $157.95 during regular trading hours, Alphabet shares soared in after-hours trading rising $19.13 or 12.11% to $177.08.