Google’s parent company Alphabet reported a 51.8 per cent jump in its fourth-quarter net profit, fuelled by an increase in Search, YouTube and advertising businesses.
The world's largest provider of search and video advertisements reported a net profit of almost $20.7 billion, the company said. It was 5 per cent up on a quarterly basis.
The California company reported a 13 per cent annual surge in last quarter’s revenue to more than $86.3 billion, beating analysts’ estimates of $85.3 billion.
This was the second straight quarter with a double-digit increase in revenue after four consecutive quarters of single-digit growth.
Alphabet’s full 2023 fiscal net profit increased 23 per cent to $73.8 billion, while revenue soared 9 per cent to $307.4 billion during the 12-month period.
A healthy correction should make Google an interesting stock again, particularly due to the good numbers in the cloud business
Thomas Monteiro,
senior analyst at Investing.com
Despite better-than-expected quarterly earnings, the company's stock dropped more than 4.42 per cent in after-hours trading to $146.28 a share.
The company’s stock closed 1.16 per cent lower at $153.05 a share on Tuesday, giving Alphabet a market valuation of $1.90 trillion.
“We are pleased with the ongoing strength in Search and the growing contribution from YouTube and Cloud,” chief executive Sundar Pichai said.
“Each of these is already benefiting from our AI [artificial intelligence] investments and innovation. As we enter the Gemini era, the best is yet to come."
Alphabet earned more than 48.6 per cent of its fourth-quarter revenue, or nearly $42 billion, from the US market.
In Europe, the Middle East and Africa, the company earned more than $25 billion, or almost 29 per cent of its total sales.
Alphabet’s operating income soared 27 per cent on an annual basis in the fourth quarter to about $23.7 billion. Its earnings for each share increased 56 per cent yearly to $1.64.
Google services business – which includes advertisements, Android, Chrome, hardware, Maps, Search, Google Play and YouTube – accounted for nearly 88.4 per cent of the company’s total sales.
It added more than $76.3 billion to overall revenue, nearly 12.4 per cent more than the fourth quarter of 2022.
Google’s advertising revenue from Search, YouTube and other businesses increased 11 per cent to more than $65.5 billion in the fourth quarter. It missed analyst estimates of $65.9 billion, according to StreetAccount.
"Alphabet's disappointing ad revenue numbers suggest that corporations worldwide are still uncertain about the pace of interest rate cuts from global central banks, thus keeping some powder dry while waiting for more clues before opening up their wallets,” Thomas Monteiro, senior analyst at Investing.com, told The National.
“More than actual EPS, investors want to see improving margins and free cash flows … still, a healthy correction should make Google an interesting stock again, particularly due to the good numbers in the cloud business."
The total revenue from the cloud business grew an annual 25.6 per cent to nearly $9.2 billion in the December quarter, exceeding analysts’ expectation of $8.9 billion.
Google Cloud includes the company’s infrastructure and data analytics platforms, collaboration tools and other services for enterprise customers.
It generates revenue mainly from fees received for cloud platform services and workspace collaboration tools.
Alphabet’s cloud business, which has been bolstered by generative AI solutions during the past months, is facing a stiff competition from companies including Oracle, Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure.
Alphabet said its operating income in the cloud segment reached $864 million during the quarter. It improved from the fourth quarter of 2022, when the division’s loss was $186 million.
The company’s operating loss from other bets, or subsidiaries, reached about $863 million in the last quarter, from a loss of more than $1.2 billion in the same period for 2022.
Other bets are derived mainly through the sale of internet offerings, and licensing and research and development services.
This includes Alphabet’s X lab, self-driving unit Waymo and other non-Google companies.
Alphabet spent over $12.1 billion on research and development, nearly 14 per cent of its total sales in the fourth quarter. This was about 18 per cent more than the R&D expenditure for the same period in 2022.
YouTube added more than $9.2 billion to Alphabet’s revenue, increasing about 10.6 per cent annually.
Google’s total acquisition costs stood at $13.9 billion, up nearly 8.2 per cent on an annual basis, against analysts’ expectations of $14.1 billion.
TACs are payments that search companies make to affiliates and online companies for bringing traffic to their websites. It is a major expense for companies such as Google and Yahoo.
Alphabet’s total cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities reached more than $110.9 billion as of December, from $113.7 billion at the end of 2022.
Alphabet said that due to last year's workforce reductions, the company incurred severance and related charges amounting to $2.1 billion in 2023.
And Google's departure from certain offices led to charges of $1.2 billion for the quarter and $1.8 billion for the entire year.
The Voice of Hind Rajab
Starring: Saja Kilani, Clara Khoury, Motaz Malhees
Director: Kaouther Ben Hania
Rating: 4/5
HIJRA
Starring: Lamar Faden, Khairiah Nathmy, Nawaf Al-Dhufairy
Director: Shahad Ameen
Rating: 3/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
All%20The%20Light%20We%20Cannot%20See%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECreator%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESteven%20Knight%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%C2%A0%3C%2Fstrong%3EMark%20Ruffalo%2C%20Hugh%20Laurie%2C%20Aria%20Mia%20Loberti%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E1%2F5%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
What sanctions would be reimposed?
Under ‘snapback’, measures imposed on Iran by the UN Security Council in six resolutions would be restored, including:
- An arms embargo
- A ban on uranium enrichment and reprocessing
- A ban on launches and other activities with ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, as well as ballistic missile technology transfer and technical assistance
- A targeted global asset freeze and travel ban on Iranian individuals and entities
- Authorisation for countries to inspect Iran Air Cargo and Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines cargoes for banned goods
More from Neighbourhood Watch
EPL's youngest
- Ethan Nwaneri (Arsenal)
15 years, 181 days old
- Max Dowman (Arsenal)
15 years, 235 days old
- Jeremy Monga (Leicester)
15 years, 271 days old
- Harvey Elliott (Fulham)
16 years, 30 days old
- Matthew Briggs (Fulham)
16 years, 68 days old
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
'Shakuntala Devi'
Starring: Vidya Balan, Sanya Malhotra
Director: Anu Menon
Rating: Three out of five stars
Kill%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Nikhil%20Nagesh%20Bhat%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3A%20Lakshya%2C%20Tanya%20Maniktala%2C%20Ashish%20Vidyarthi%2C%20Harsh%20Chhaya%2C%20Raghav%20Juyal%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204.5%2F5%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Scoreline
Germany 2
Werner 9', Sane 19'
Netherlands 2
Promes 85', Van Dijk 90'
Stan%20Lee
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20David%20Gelb%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%203%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
The five pillars of Islam
more from Janine di Giovanni
The figures behind the event
1) More than 300 in-house cleaning crew
2) 165 staff assigned to sanitise public areas throughout the show
3) 1,000 social distancing stickers
4) 809 hand sanitiser dispensers placed throughout the venue
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
Arrogate's winning run
1. Maiden Special Weight, Santa Anita Park, June 5, 2016
2. Allowance Optional Claiming, Santa Anita Park, June 24, 2016
3. Allowance Optional Claiming, Del Mar, August 4, 2016
4. Travers Stakes, Saratoga, August 27, 2016
5. Breeders' Cup Classic, Santa Anita Park, November 5, 2016
6. Pegasus World Cup, Gulfstream Park, January 28, 2017
7. Dubai World Cup, Meydan Racecourse, March 25, 2017
Tree of Hell
Starring: Raed Zeno, Hadi Awada, Dr Mohammad Abdalla
Director: Raed Zeno
Rating: 4/5
Electoral College Victory
Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate.
Popular Vote Tally
The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.
MATCH SCHEDULE
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Tuesday, April 24 (10.45pm)
Liverpool v Roma
Wednesday, April 25
Bayern Munich v Real Madrid (10.45pm)
Europa League semi-final, first leg
Thursday, April 26
Arsenal v Atletico Madrid (11.05pm)
Marseille v Salzburg (11.05pm)
BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
Evacuations to France hit by controversy
- Over 500 Gazans have been evacuated to France since November 2023
- Evacuations were paused after a student already in France posted anti-Semitic content and was subsequently expelled to Qatar
- The Foreign Ministry launched a review to determine how authorities failed to detect the posts before her entry
- Artists and researchers fall under a programme called Pause that began in 2017
- It has benefited more than 700 people from 44 countries, including Syria, Turkey, Iran, and Sudan
- Since the start of the Gaza war, it has also included 45 Gazan beneficiaries
- Unlike students, they are allowed to bring their families to France
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The five pillars of Islam
MATCH INFO
Uefa Nations League
League A, Group 4
Spain v England, 10.45pm (UAE)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
