By
Godfrey Benjamin
April 23rd, 2024
Announcing the newly-authorized share repurchases, Alphabet said such actions are expected to occur “from time to time, subject to general business and market conditions.”
The board of directors at Google‘s parent company Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL) has authorized a $70 billion share repurchases. The multinational conglomerate announced the authorized buyback on Tuesday while announcing its financial performance for the year’s first quarter. Following the announcement of the quarterly results and share repurchases, Alphabet grew 3% in extended trading.
Alphabet Authorizes Shares Repurchases
In the announcement, Alphabet said the share repurchases are of Class A and Class C shares. The company noted that it would execute the decision in a manner deemed in the best interest of all stockholders and the company itself. It added that it would consider the economic cost and market condition, as well as the relative trading prices and volumes of the shares. Notably, Alphabet Class A shares are the original shares with voting rights. On the other hand, Class C shares are newer, and they have no voting rights. Alphabet also has super-voting Class B shares, but they are not publicly available for trading.
The $70 billion share repurchases are an additional buyback as Alphabet also announced a buyback of the same amount in April 2022. If the company eventually spends the entire amount on the plan, it would represent a continuation of the previous year’s pace. When the holding company revealed the buyback in 2022, it was a major step up from 2021’s authorization of $50 billion and $25 billion in 2019. Apart from Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), Alphabet repurchased more of its own stock than any other company in 2021.
Announcing the newly-authorized share repurchases, Alphabet said such actions are expected to occur “from time to time, subject to general business and market conditions and other investment opportunities, through open market purchases or privately negotiated transactions, including through Rule 10b5-1 plans”.
Alphabet’s Performance in Q1 2023
Speaking on the Q1 2023 report, CEO Sundar Pichai expressed his pleasure with the company’s business performance. He added that Search and Cloud are performing well, and North Star provides its users with the most helpful answers. During the quarter, the company’s revenue was a billion better than expected at almost $70 billion. Alphabet also had an unexpected bright spot in its net profit of $15 billion.
The chief financial officer of Alphabet and Google, Ruth Porat, wrote:
“Resilience in Search and momentum in Cloud resulted in Q1 consolidated revenues of $69.8 billion, up 3% year over year, or up 6% in constant currency. We remain committed to delivering long-term growth and creating capacity to invest in our most compelling growth areas by re-engineering our cost base.”
In January, Alphabet said it would cut 12,000 jobs or 6% of its workforce. Following its decision, the company recorded $2.6 billion in charges related to workforce reductions and office space during the first three months of the year.