CALIFORNIA
Alphabet, the world’s largest provider of search and video advertisements, dropped more than 4.3 percent in extended trading after it reported weaker than expected earnings for the first quarter. The company reported a net profit of more than $16.4 billion in the three months ending on March 31, nearly 8.3 percent down on an annual basis. It was 20.3 percent or $4.2bn less on a quarterly basis.
Revenue at Google’s parent company during the period rose almost 23 percent annually to more than $68bn. But it was 9.7 percent down compared to the quarter that ended on December 31. The company’s stock was trading at $2,270 a share in after-hours trading.
“Q1 saw strong growth in search and cloud, in particular, which are both helping people and businesses as the digital transformation continues,” said Sundar Pichai, chief executive of Alphabet.
“We will keep investing in great products and services … and creating opportunities for partners and local communities around the world.”
Google services business — which includes advertisements, Android, Chrome, hardware, Maps, Search, Google Play and YouTube — accounted for more than 90 per cent of the company’s total sales. It added more than $61.4bn to overall revenue, almost 20.1 percent more than the first quarter of 2021.
Google’s advertising revenue from Search, YouTube and other businesses increased 22.3 percent yearly to more than $54.6bn in the first quarter. The total revenue from the cloud business grew an annual 43.8 percent to more than $5.8 billion.
Alphabet said its operating loss in the cloud segment reached $931 million during the quarter, which narrowed from a $974m loss in the same period in 2021.
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.
This month, Google announced it would invest about $9.5bn in its US offices and data centres this year as it seeks to get more employees back into its buildings as Covid-19 restrictions ease. The company aims to create 12,000 jobs as part of the investment.
The California-based company’s revenue from other investments, or subsidiaries, increased more than 120 percent yearly to $440 million. Other bets are derived mainly through the sale of internet offerings, as well as licensing and research and development services. This includes Alphabet’s X lab, self-driving unit Waymo and other non-Google companies.
