Google parent Alphabet has reported record quarterly sales of more than $75billion - an eye-watering figure which topped expectations.
Its internet advertising business surged on consumers using Google search as they shopped online, and also advertisers upping their marketing budgets.
Reuters reports that Alphabet's shares jumped more than 8% in after-hours trading, also rising on the company's announcement that it would undertake a 20-to-one stock split.
The results were the latest to reinforce the theory that the global trend toward a more digital economy has made US big tech companies resistant to small-market shocks.
While concerns about rising inflation, Covid-19 variants and supply-chain shortages have rattled Wall Street and hurt sales at some businesses, the companies that control key gateways to e-commerce, hybrid work and streaming entertainment have not seen a dip since the early days of the pandemic.
Analysts said Google, which generates more revenue from internet ads than any other company, is proving that its growth is unstoppable for the foreseeable future.
Sophie Lund-Yates, equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "The pandemic has handily accelerated the world's reliance on digital advertising."
Reuters says shares of Alphabet jumped 8.6% in after-hours trading, to $2,990.10 (£2,211.63), erasing their losses for the year to date. Shares of competitors in online ads including Facebook owner Meta Platforms, Twitter and Snap all rose as well.
FTSE 100
Meanwhile, on this side of the Atlantic, the FTSE 100 index was ahead 38 points at 7,574 in early trading this morning, while the March contract for Brent crude was flat at $89.16 a barrel.
Companies reporting today
- Trading updates: Glencore, Severn Trent, Vodafone Group
- AGM: Imperial Brands
Other updates:
- Treasury Select Committee's economic crime inquiry report launch event, hosted by consumer group Which?
- Speech by CBI director general Tony Danker at an event organised with the Centre for Policy Studies