Google’s Alphabet surpasses Apple to become most valuable company

Stock in Alphabet, a company typically referred to as Google, has increased 43 percent in value from one year ago, putting it in the same league as Apple’s valuation.

The strong showing was enough to push Alphabet’s shares up six per cent in after-hours trading, valuing the company at more than $554 billion US. “They are building a culture of accountability and more”.

Revenue rose 18 percent to $21.3 billion, besting analyst revenue expectations of $16.9 billion.

Adjusted earnings of US$8.67 per share handily beat analysts’ average estimate of US$8.10 per share.

The publication of the figures on Monday excited the markets, with Google briefly overtaking Apple in market cap terms, but the balance has since been restored.

Of you’re keeping score at home, this would be the first time that Google has been more valuable than Apple since 2010.

The fourth-quarter report marks the first time Alphabet has spelled out the costs of running still-experimental businesses that are trying to do everything from eliminating human drivers to curing cancer. So while Alphabet may be making more from its so called ‘moonshots’, it’s also spending more. The alliance turned into a rivalry after Google released the smartphone software Android, which Apple co-founder Steve Jobs said copied Apple’s designs, leading to multibillion-dollar patent lawsuits around the world.

Google accounted for all but a sliver of Alphabet’s revenue, bringing in $74.5 billion for the year compared to $448 million for “Other Bets”, a group that includes Calico, Google Capital, Google Fiber, Google Ventures, Google X, Nest, and Verily. All important paid-for clicks – where advertisers pay per person who clicks on the ad – were up 31 percent across the entire internet, and 40 percent on Google-owned sites. Fourth-quarter net income rose to $4.92 billion from $4.68 billion a year earlier. “Apple’s main problem is its reliance on the iPhone, which now accounts for two-thirds of revenue”. It’s estimated that enterprise could be worth in excess of $2.5 trillion if publicly held.