Google parent Alphabet grows briskly, likely to overtake Apple

New York

WALL Street got its first glimpse of the financial details of a new conglomerate called Alphabet on Monday. Investors liked what they saw so much that the outfit formerly known as Google is poised to become the world's most valuable company.

Despite spending US$3.6 billion a year on projects such as self-driving cars that don't make much money, Alphabet's advertising business propelled the company to a strong last three months of 2015, outpacing expectations and sending the stock up in after-hours trading.