Alphabet is a big American company based in Mountain View, California. It was created on October 2, 2015, to be the parent company of Google and several other businesses that used to be part of Google. Alphabet is one of the largest tech companies in the world by revenue and one of the most valuable.
The company is known for its wide range of businesses, including Google Search, YouTube, Android, and Google Cloud. It also has other ventures, like Waymo (self-driving cars), Verily (life sciences), and DeepMind (AI research). Alphabet aims to innovate in different industries such as healthcare, entertainment, transportation, and artificial intelligence. Alphabet’s goal is to organize the world’s information and make it accessible and useful. The company invests a lot in research and development to keep pushing technology forward and stay competitive.
Alphabet Fiscal Q4 2024
Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL) announced their financial results for the last quarter and the entire year of 2024, which ended on December 31, 2024.
In Q4 2024, Alphabet reported a revenue of $96.5 billion, which was a 12% increase year-over-year. However, this figure fell slightly short of forecasted revenue. Despite the slight miss, Alphabet’s earnings per share (EPS) exceeded expectations, coming in at $2.15.
- Overall Revenue: In Q4 2024, Alphabet’s revenue grew by 12% compared to last year, reaching $96.5 billion. This growth shows strong progress across their business.
- Google Services: Revenue from Google Services increased by 10%, reaching $84.1 billion. This growth was driven by strong performance in Google Search and YouTube ads.
- Google Cloud: Revenue from Google Cloud grew by 30%, reaching $12 billion. This was mainly due to the success of Google Cloud Platform (GCP) products, AI Infrastructure, and Generative AI Solutions.
- Operating Income and Margin: Total operating income grew by 31%, and the operating margin expanded by 5 percentage points, reaching 32%.
- Net Income and EPS: Net income increased by 28%, and earnings per share (EPS) grew by 31% to $2.15.
During the three months ending on December 31, 2024, Alphabet paid a total of $2.4 billion in dividends to its stockholders. This included $1.2 billion for Class A shares, $172 million for Class B shares, and $1.1 billion for Class C shares.
Boards Statements
Sundar Pichai, CEO of Alphabet, noted that the fourth quarter was strong, driven by the company’s leadership in AI and overall business momentum. The company is rapidly building, testing, and launching products and models, while also making significant progress in computing and efficiency. In Search, innovations like AI Overviews and Circle to Search are boosting user engagement.
The AI-powered Google Cloud portfolio is experiencing increased customer demand, and YouTube remains the leader in streaming watch time and podcasts.
Together, Google Cloud and YouTube ended 2024 with an annual revenue run rate of $110 billion. These results demonstrate the strength of Alphabet’s full-stack approach to AI innovation and the enduring success of its core businesses.
Looking ahead, Alphabet plans to invest around $75 billion in capital expenditures in 2025 to further accelerate its progress.
Impact on the Stock Market
The company’s earnings per share (EPS) were higher than expected, but its revenue was slightly below the forecasts. As a result, Alphabet’s stock price dropped by 7% in pre-market trading after earnings were released.
Investors were worried about the revenue miss and the company’s plan to spend $75 billion on capital expenses in 2025, which was more than anticipated.
