In a letter Thursday, the company paid its first dividend of 20 cents a share and its board of directors approved stock buybacks of up to $70 billion.
The company’s move comes after Mater’s board of directors approved its first dividend in February. As of March 31, 2024, Google’s parent company had $108 billion in cash and marketable securities.
Shares rose 15% in after-hours trading. The news was announced alongside better-than-expected first-quarter earnings.
Letter Equivalent Size Repurchase Authorization Just over a year ago, it was a time of intense cost-cutting and layoffs.
Dividends are paid for all classes of stock, including super-voting Class B shareholders and non-voting Class C shareholders. Most Google investors own the company through Class A shares. All shareholders of record as of June 10 will receive the dividend that month.
Co-founder Sergey Brin, who owns more than 730 million Class B and Class C shares, will receive $146 million in dividends. Co-founder Larry Page owns 389 million Class B shares and will receive $78 million in dividends.
Investors are always looking for signs that tech companies are maturing. Starting in 2022, major tech companies have announced layoffs and tightened spending. Investors have rewarded these efforts and responded similarly to buybacks and dividend payouts. When Meta announced its first dividend in February, shares rose more than 14%.
Notably, Amazon has never issued a dividend or authorized stock buybacks anywhere near Google’s scale. Amazon’s largest share buyback will occur in 2022, amounting to $10 billion.
Amazon will report first-quarter earnings on Tuesday.
