Google Parent Company Alphabet Beats Revenue Expectations Thanks to Ad Sales

Google’s parent company Alphabet reported quarterly revenue of USD$56.9 billion (~RM230.3 billion), up 23% year-on-year and beating market expectations, on the back of strong ad sales. Analysts had instead forecast quarterly revenue of USD$53.13 billion (~RM215.12 billion), reported CNBC citing Refinitiv.

“Google’s products and support have been a lifeline for millions of small medium businesses hit hard by the pandemic,” said Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai on a conference call with analysts, according to Reuters. Google has predictably benefited from lockdowns across the globe that have pushed businesses online and towards Internet advertising.

Google and Alphabet CFO Ruth Porat said as much when she noted that the tech giant’s stellar performance “was driven by Search and YouTube, as consumer and business activity recovered from earlier in the year.”

YouTube ads alone brought in USD$6.89 billion (~RM27.9 billion), up by 46% year-on-year. CNBC report stated that analysts were expecting USD$6.11 billion (~RM24.74 billion), according to StreetAccount.

“We now reach more 18-49 year olds than all linear TV networks combined,” remarked Google chief business officer Philipp Schindler, CNBC reported.

Still, it wasn’t all good news. Google’s cloud division reported an operating loss of US$1.24 billion (~RM5.02 billion). Bloomberg noted that Alphabet CEO Pichai has been looking into cloud services to diversify away from Google’s main search and advertising business. However, the tech giant still lags behind Amazon and Microsoft when it comes to the cloud market.