The holidays were a gift to Alphabet’s Google, quarterly results showed. Next up: Facebook owner Meta.
Alphabet’s internet advertising, cloud computing and hardware businesses helped the Google owner far exceed Wall Street’s targets for the holiday quarter, sending shares up as much as 9 percent in trading. after closing.
Brian Wieser, global president of business intelligence at ad-buying giant GroupM, said Alphabet’s results reinforce that the ad industry as a whole is in a strong position, despite Apple’s changes that prevent advertisers track iPhone and iPad users without their consent. . That has been a concern for social media companies including Meta and Snap.
Unlike the previous quarter, during which marketers with few products and privacy changes in the tech industry led to lost sales, this time Google didn’t notice any particular challenges. It sets up well for Meta Platform gains,” after the market close on Wednesday, said Gene Munster of investment firm Loup Ventures.
Alphabet’s results sparked a rally among Internet advertising companies. Shares of Trade Desk, Magnite, PubMatic and several other companies that compete with and work with Google rose after hours of trading Tuesday night.
Recent revenue gains by Alphabet, Apple and others in the tech industry come amid concerns that software and equipment makers can’t sustain usage gains from early in the pandemic. In a generally nervous market, as inflation kicks in, stocks fell last month.
Still, “when you look at the markets, when big companies are doing well, you know it’s hard to say there’s a problem with the economy,” said Paul McCarthy, president of investment firm Kisco Capital.
In the fourth quarter, Alphabet’s advertising revenue rose 32.5 per cent to $61.2 billion (approximately Rs. 4,64,634 crore), $4 billion (approximately Rs. 29,928 crore) per above Wall Street targets, according to Refinitiv data.
