Alphabet Rockets: Revenue & Profit Soar in Q4

Alphabet, Google‘s parent company, recently announced its financial results for the fourth quarter of the fiscal year 2023, ending in December. The company reported a significant revenue increase, reaching $86.31 billion, a 13% rise from the same period last year. Net profit also saw a substantial growth of 52%, amounting to $20.687 billion. This growth is primarily attributed to the continuous rise in cloud business revenues and the expansion of its core advertising operations.

The report details that cloud business revenues grew by 26%, reaching $9.192 billion, exceeding market expectations with a profit of $864 million, indicating sustained profitability. The primary advertising business grew by 11%, reaching $65.517 billion, with YouTube advertising contributing 14% to the total advertising revenues, marking a 16% increase.

Other ventures, including hardware, software marketplaces, and subscription services, collectively earned $10.794 billion, a 23% increase compared to the previous year. Alphabet’s other investment projects, like Google X, Waymo, Verily, and Google Ventures, reported combined revenues of $657 million, a 191% increase, albeit resulting in a loss of $863 million, reduced by approximately $374 million from the previous year.

Following recent announcements of layoffs, the company’s total workforce, including Google, stands at 182,502 employees, a reduction of approximately 7,732 from the previous year.

CEO Sundar Pichai expressed that search-related businesses continue to grow significantly, including YouTube and cloud services. Plans involve intensified investment in AI technology, propelled by the “Gemini” large-scale natural language model to drive AI technology applications.