The Financial Post reports in its Friday edition that Alphabet topped projections for quarterly revenue and outlined an ambitious capital spending plan, far surpassing predictions, leveraging its growth to build out the data centres and infrastructure needed to lead in the AI age. A Bloomberg dispatch to the Post quotes Google's parent saying capital expenditures will reach as much as $185-billion this year, compared with the $119.5-billion analysts expected (all figures U.S.). Fourth-quarter sales, excluding partner payouts, were $97.23-billion, surpassing the $95.2-billion average estimate. Alphabet stock has gained about 64 per cent in the last 12 months. Google's Gemini, its AI model, is rapidly reaching new users, Alphabet said. Google has raced to reinvent its business for the AI age, working to keep consumers in the habit of going to its search page even when they could go to chatbots from rivals like OpenAI. The company has quickly improved its Gemini model and integrated it across products -- an effort that has required massive investment in data centres and chips for model improvement and cloud customers. The company has said its huge investments in AI are essential for competing against its Big Tech rivals.