In what was the first such instance in at least 2 years, Google parent Alphabet Inc. missed its revenue and profit targets by narrow margins as compared to Wall Street estimates. Investors however showed no mercy as Alphabet shares nose-dived by over 7% in after-hours over fears that increased regulation, huge investments in futuristic tech and increasing competition are causing financial harm to the company.
In terms of numbers, Alphabet’s revenues stood $33.74 billion — up 21% from the same quarter last year but missing analysts’ estimate by about $310 million, according to Refinitiv data. These numbers range from August to September. Analysts expected $34.04 billion in revenues.
Still, on a Y-o-Y basis, revenue is up 21% from $27.77 billion in Q3 2017, with net income at $9.19 billion for this quarter. For comparison, Alphabet reported $32.65 billion in revenue and a $3 billion in net income last quarter even after factoring the $5 billion EU Android fine.
Google ad sales contributed 86 percent of revenue, but growth slowed to 20 percent from nearly 24 percent last quarter.
Our business continues to have strong momentum globally, led by mobile search and our many products that help billions of people every day.
said Ruth Porat, Chief Financial Officer of Alphabet and Google
As has been the case pretty much every time Alphabet has reported earnings, the company’s critically analysed “Other bets” section continues to be the loss-driving engine. This segment reported $146 million revenue primarily generated by Verily and Fiber, with operating loss up to $727 million from $732 million (recast) in the previous quarter.
However, whats not taken into account, are Pixel 3 and Google Home Hub launches. Considering that holiday season is right around the corner, sales are expected to catch up for these two (and other) newly launched hardware pieces.
Positives also came from the net profit front. The Google-parent reported net profit of $9.2 billion, or $13.06 per share, compared with $6.7 billion, or $9.57 per share in the year-ago quarter. That beat the average analyst estimate of $10.45.
Earnings were boosted by a lower tax rate and favourable valuation of the Alphabet’s investments in startups such as Uber among others.
