Google Finally Pays Dividends!

Would you wait 20 years to get your first dividend payment from one of the world’s largest tech companies?

Alphabet – Google and YouTube’s parent company – just announced its first-ever dividend payment. The board approved a US$0.20 dividend to be paid out on June 17 to all investors who are shareholders by June 10. 

Now, Alphabet listed on the NASDAQ back in 2004, and believe it or not, that was 20 years ago. So, it’s been a long time coming for some investors, who I’m sure are doing the Birdman hand rub. On top of that, the board announced that they will be paying quarterly dividends going forward. 

Alphabet was basking in good news last week, as it shattered earnings expectations. The company brought in US$80.5 billion in revenue.  That’s US$2 billion more than analysts expected.

The revenue was 15% higher than last year, when it made US$70 billion.  It’s the company’s fastest growth since early 2022.

A lot of this is due to a jump in ad sales on Google on YouTube.

Google reported total ad sales of almost US$62 billion!  That’s a big jump from US$54 billion a year ago. 

According to this CNBC article, Google’s core advertising business is reaccelerating after a difficult 2022 and 2023, when rising interest rates and inflation forced brands to pull back on spending. 

Meanwhile, YouTube advertising contributed a solid US$8 billion to Alphabet’s overall revenue.  And cloud storage brought in another US$9.5 billion.

With all this positive news, it’s no surprise that Alphabet’s stock price rallied last week. The stock jumped 14% on Thursday after the results and news of the dividend payment. This pushed its market cap over the US$2 trillion mark.

 Alphabet closed trading last week at US$173.69.  That’s up 11% for the week.

The company also announced a US$70 billion share buyback. And fewer shares available for trading could drive up the share price and increase Alphabet’s market value…

And that’s the bottom line.

FYI – this information is for educational purposes only, and is not intended as financial advice.  Please consult a licensed financial advisor before making any investment decisions.