Strong earnings, first-ever dividend, and $70 billion buyback propel Alphabet's stock price up 10%.

• On Friday morning, the stock price of Alphabet increased following the release of the company's better-than-anticipated first-quarter earnings and the announcement of its first dividend.
• On Thursday, the company reported revenue of $80.54 billion, a 15% increase from the previous year and the fastest growth rate since early 2022, along with earnings of $1.89 per share.
• YouTube advertising revenue and Google Cloud revenue both exceeded analysts' expectations.

The company's stock price increased by 10% on Friday morning following the release of better-than-anticipated first-quarter earnings, the announcement of a dividend, and a $70 billion buyback program.

On Thursday, the company reported revenue of $80.54 billion, a 15% increase from the previous year and the fastest growth rate since early 2022, surpassing the $78.59 billion in sales predicted by analysts surveyed by LSEG. Additionally, the company's earnings per share of $1.89 surpassed the $1.51 per share expected by Wall Street.

Alphabet announced that its board approved a 20-cent dividend per share to be paid on June 17 to all shareholders of record as of June 10, and stated its intention to pay future quarterly cash dividends. Additionally, the company revealed that its board authorized the repurchase of an additional $70 billion in stock.

Analysts' expectations for YouTube advertising revenue and Google Cloud revenue were surpassed by the company.

Alphabet stock was upgraded by Barclays analysts, who raised their price target from $173 to $200, praising the company's ability to balance investment with efficiency and capital returns.

""Google is experiencing rapid growth, increasing profits, and delivering products more quickly, thereby proving the skeptics wrong. The positive trend is expected to continue in the near future," the analysts stated in a Thursday report."

Oppenheimer analysts raised their price target for Alphabet from $185 to $205, despite the company's significant spending on artificial intelligence, and reiterated an outperform rating due to the accelerating growth of its advertising business.

Morgan Stanley analysts maintained their overweight rating of Alphabet and increased their price target from $165 to $195, stating the company's strong core growth and successful cost reengineering efforts.

JPMorgan and Evercore ISI both raised their price targets for the stock after Alphabet's earnings, with JPMorgan increasing its target to $200 from $165 and Evercore ISI upping its target to $200 from $160.

— CNBC's Michael Bloom contributed to this report.