Meta in focus after strong report by Alphabet boosts confidence

FILE PHOTO: A man stands in front of a sign of Meta, the new name for the company formerly known as Facebook, at its headquarters in Menlo Park, California, U.S. October 28, 2021. REUTERS/Carlos Barria

(Reuters) - The holidays were a gift to Alphabet Inc's Google, quarterly results showed. Next up: Facebook owner Meta Platforms Inc.

Alphabet's internet advertising, cloud computing and hardware businesses helped the Google owner soundly beat Wall Street targets for the holiday quarter, sending shares up as much as 9% in after-hours trading.