Alphabet is beset on all sides.
Antitrust suits across the world portend potential major breakups of the business. Google is collecting nine- and 10-digit fines like they’re going out of style. Its iron grip on the global search market might be loosening at last.
And Alphabet’s earnings are absolutely unaffected.
The company reported Q4 revenue of $96.5 billion, up 12% from the same period in 2023.
Google Search, YouTube and Google Cloud all saw double-digit revenue growth, as well as profit margin expansion, touted CFO Anat Ashkenazi.
YouTube and Google Ads growing at 10% to 15% is nothing to sneeze at, especially when they’re such large businesses to begin with. But perhaps even more impressive – and certainly an important metric for Wall Street investors – is that Alphabet’s net income (i.e., profit) increased by 28%.
But what about search?
Competitors have touted growth in their search engine products, noted a Bank of America investor. And Google’s own AI Overviews for search are being widely distributed. Has that reduced the overall search volume?
“Metrics are healthy,” said CEO Sundar Pichai, although he noted that AI Overviews are growing faster and at a higher rate among younger people.
Well, for one thing, core Google Search ads growth remain the largest contributor to new revenue.
And, of course, the only thing that matters any more is generative AI.
There were no mentions or questions from investors on the call regarding any of Google’s ongoing antitrust suits. The word “cases” came up seven times, all examples of real and potential use cases for generative AI.
