Alphabet Inc on Tuesday beat analysts’ estimate for quarterly revenue as its Google unit posted double-digit advertising growth despite the economic slowdown from the novel coronavirus.

Shares of Alphabet rose 4 per cent to $1,282 following the after-hours release of financial results. Alphabet shares were down about 8 per cent this year at Tuesday’s close.

A booming economy and rising internet usage have driven Google to record revenues in the last few years. But the virus has split those two trends, with consumer spending now plunging and reliance on internet services surging.

Alphabet Chief Financial Officer Ruth Porat told analysts on Tuesday that while users were searching more, they were looking up less commercial topics and advertisers were cutting spending.