Alphabet officially vaulted Apple to become the most valuable company in the U.S. in Tuesday trading , rousting the iPhone maker from the perch it held for more than four years.

Alphabet shares (GOOGL) jumped 6% after Google’s parent reported estimate-topping fourth-quarter results after Monday’s close. Its combined share classes were then worth $554 billion, surpassing Apple (AAPL), which had a value of about $534 billion and whose shares were down slightly after hours.

“Google is in the pole position,” said BGC Financial analyst Colin Gillis.

Gillis credited accelerating revenue growth, expense control and a capital return to shareholders via a share repurchase program. He says Alphabet is positioned to be the first company on a U.S. listed exchange to be worth $1 trillion.

“The core business is cranking along and picking up speed. We love it when businesses re-accelerate,” he said.

Apple nabbed the bragging rights as the most valuable company in the U.S. in 2012 from Exxon Mobil. At one point in early 2015, Apple was worth more than $760 billion.

But Apple has struggled as demand for the iPhone has softened. Raising concern on Wall Street: the tech giant has yet to come up with another blockbuster product while Alphabet continues to reign in the lucrative Internet search advertising market while pressing forward in video and mobile advertising, causing its stock to surge.

Alphabet earned $8.67 a share in the fourth quarter, well above expectations of $8.09 a share. Revenues clocked in at $21.32 billion, surpassing estimates of $20.76 billion.

Alphabet Chief Financial Officer Ruth Porat attributed the rise to strong growth in mobile search and ongoing momentum in YouTube advertising.

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SOURCE: Jessica Guynn 
USA TODAY