Shares of social media firms rose in premarket trading after Google's ad revenue topped estimates. Alphabet rose 6%, Pinterest and Reddit rose 5%, Meta Platforms rose 4%, Snap rose 2%.

Google parent Alphabet Inc. reported first-quarter revenue and profit that exceeded analysts’ expectations, buoyed by continued strength in its search advertising business.

Search advertising generated $50.7 billion in sales. That compared with the average analyst projection for $50.3 billion. The unit remains the core engine of Google’s wider advertising business, and saw traction with the insurance, retail, health care and travel industries, executives said on a call with investors after the earnings report.