Alphabet shares rises as AI bets begin to pay off

Alphabet‘s shares advanced over 5% in premarket trading on Friday after the Google parent assured investors that its bold AI investments are fueling a revenue boom in its advertising empire and cushioning a slowdown in cloud growth. “Alphabet is delivering well on the AI front, proving many sceptics wrong,” said Gerrit Smit, manager of Stonehage Fleming Global Best Ideas Equity Fund.

Google’s ad business, which accounts for nearly 75% of the company’s total revenue, posted an 8.5% rise in first-quarter revenue to $66.89 billion, though slow compared…