The company just announced that it will undertake a $5 billion stock buyback starting in the fourth quarter.
Investors cheered the move, which was announced with its Q3 earnings on Thursday, sending shares up 11% in after-hours trading.
Stock buybacks lower the total number of shares on the market, helping to buoy a company's stock price.
The buyback is one of the first big moves by CFO Ruth Porat, a former Morgan Stanley executive who joined Google earlier this year. It may reflect a more investor-friendly Google, which has long had the reputation for ignoring Wall Street conventions such as providing financial guidance and hosting annual analyst meetings.
Here's what Alphabet said about the buyback:
The board of directors of Alphabet authorized the company to repurchase up to $5,099,019,513.59 of its Company's Class C capital stock, commencing in the fourth quarter of 2015. The repurchase is expected to be executed from time to time, subject to general business and market conditions and other investment opportunities, through open market purchases or privately negotiated transactions, including through Rule 10b5-1 plans.