MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Feb. 2 (UPI) -- Alphabet Inc., the parent company of Google Inc., briefly overtook Apple on Tuesday to become the world's most valuable company.
Alphabet Inc. began the Wall Street trading day with a valuation of $551 billion before its stock fell 1 percent to push its value to $531 billion, pushed by a four percent gain in Google stock in after-hours trading Monday. Despite its massive spending on futuristic but typically unprofitable projects, including self-driving cars, Google's strong results in its fourth-quarter search and advertising business was the cause of a 24 percent increase in its revenue, to $21.3 billion, compared to the fourth quarter of 2014.
The rise in revenue was attributed to YouTube and mobile searches, important because investors were eager to see the search business transition smoothly from desktop computers to mobile phones, as well as YouTube functioning as a growth engine. It is an indication that Google's core business is thriving.
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.
