Alphabet- Google’s parent company- has surpassed Apple as the world’s most valuable company after its latest earnings report.
The company posted net income of $4.9bn (£3.4bn) for the fourth quarter, an increase from $4.7bn a year ago.
The announcement sent its share price up 9% in after-hours trading.
That means that Alphabet is now worth around $568bn, compared with Apple which has a value of $535bn.
It is the first time that Alphabet has stripped out the results of its Google business – which includes the search engine and YouTube – from its “Other Bets” business, which includes more experimental ventures such as self-driving cars and internet balloon programs, reports the BBC.
The figures show that the “Other Bets” lost $3.6bn between October and December last year.
But advertising revenue for Google rose by nearly 17%, as the number of ads, or paid clicks, rose 31%.
