Alphabet handily beat Wall Street analysts’ estimates for earnings per share in the first quarter and also topped revenue expectations thanks in part to YouTube advertising.
The tech giant reported total revenue of $90.2 billion, up 12% from the year-ago period, with earnings per share of $2.81. Analysts had expected revenue of $89.15 billion and earnings per share of $2.01.
Shares in Alphabet surged 5% in after-hours trading on the quarterly numbers, after an increase of 2% during the regular trading day.
YouTube ad revenue climbed 10% to $8.9 billion. The video giant has been gaining as cord-cutting erodes traditional linear networks. With its YouTube TV service now one of the top pay-TV operators in the U.S. and increasing numbers of podcasts and other programming being viewed on TV sets instead of mobile, YouTube is throwing significant weight around as an ad seller. The company will convene its annual Brandcast event for advertisers on May 14 in New York, having graduated a few years ago from the digital NewFronts arena to the front-line broadcast/streaming upfronts.
In the earnings release for the quarter ended March 31, Alphabet reported “robust momentum” across the company. Along with YouTube ads, double-digit revenue growth was recorded by the Google Search & Other; Google Subscriptions, Platforms, and Devices; and Google Cloud businesses.
CEO Sundar Pichai said YouTube and the Google One bundle propelled the number of total subscriptions across the company to 270 million.
The earnings report came amid a noisy period for the tech sector, and for Alphabet in particular. A federal judge earlier this month ruled that Google’s ad tech business operated as an illegal monopoly. The remedy that will follow the decision could break up the company, or at least separate its Chrome web browser business from the rest of the portfolio.
YouTube this week celebrated its 20th anniversary, announcing that 20 billion videos have been uploaded to the platform since the beginning.
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