Google parent Alphabet posts Q2 growth, beats forecasts
Make us a preferred source
Make us a preferred source on Google
The news: Google parent Alphabet posted a jump in revenue for the June quarter, buoyed by demand for its cloud computing services and search engine advertising, helping it to beat consensus expectations.
The numbers: Net income in the quarter rose 28.6% to USD23.6 billion ($35.68 billion) compared to the prior corresponding period, beating average estimates of USD22.9 billion, according to Reuters. Advertising sales, which represent the company's core revenue source, climbed 11% year on year to USD64.6 billion.
Revenue lifted 14% to USD84.74 billion, compared with consensus estimates of USD84.19 billion, according to LSEG data. Revenue from Alphabet's cloud computing services segment, Google Cloud, gained 28.8% to USD10.35 billion, above analysts' forecasts of USD10.16 billion.
Quarterly search advertising revenue was USD48.5 billion, compared with the average analyst projection for USD47.6 billion. Sales for the company's "other bets", including its self-driving car unit Waymo, rose 28% to USD365 million.
Ad sales in its YouTube division rose 13% to USD8.67 billion but was below expectations.
After initially fluctuating, Alphabet shares were down 1.5% to USD179.10 at 7:40am AEST in extended trading on the Nasdaq. The stock has gained 30% so far this year.
The context: Alphabet's Q2 earnings come a day after Google's move to complete its largest ever acquisition fell through. Its planned USD23 billion buyout of Wiz collapsed on Tuesday, as the cybersecurity startup's CEO Assaf Rappaport told employees the company would target an initial public offering instead.
Earlier in the quarter, Alphabet also held talks to buy NYSE-listed HubSpot, but walked away from a deal for the customer relationship management company this month.
On Monday, Google said that it plans to keep third-party cookies in its Chrome browser backtracking function, having previously pledged to phase them out.
The sources: Alphabet earnings release, Reuters
