By Katherine Blunt
Google parent Alphabet reported a 18% jump in fourth-quarter revenue, driven by growth in its digital-advertising and cloud-computing units as it ramped up spending on artificial intelligence.
Sales reached nearly $114 billion, ahead of analyst expectations. Net income was $34.5 billion, a 30% increase compared with the same period a year earlier.
The company reported a record $403 billion in sales in 2025. Profit reached about $132 billion last year.
Shares dipped slightly in after-hours trading.
Google, like other tech companies, plans to spend tens of billions of dollars to develop AI models and build the data centers needed to train and run them. The company said it expected to spend $175 billion to $185 billion in capital expenditures in 2026, up from $91 billion to $93 billion in 2025.
Google's cloud division, which sells computing power to data centers, has become a fast-growing unit as a result of the race to develop AI. The cloud unit had nearly $18 billion in fourth-quarter revenue, a 48% increase from the same period in 2024.
Microsoft, Meta Platforms and Apple reported quarterly results last week. Amazon reports earnings Thursday.
Google last year pulled ahead in the AI race with the November launch of Gemini 3, the most powerful version of its AI model and chatbot. The company said its Gemini app now has 750 million monthly users, up from 650 million in October.
Shares in Alphabet rose 65% last year, and the company last month joined Nvidia in reaching a $4 trillion valuation.
Google has been working to incorporate AI tools into a number of its products, including its classic search engine. The company last year rolled out "AI Mode," which searches and responds in a chatbot-like exchange with fewer links.
Write to Katherine Blunt at katherine.blunt@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
February 04, 2026 16:29 ET (21:29 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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