Google parent company Alphabet posts strong revenue growth
Google parent company, Alphabet Inc, posted an increase in revenue for the fourth quarter of 2016, driven by the continued success of the company's mobile and YouTube video advertising business.
Alphabet's revenue jumped to $26.1 billion, up 22 percent over the same quarter last year, surpassing Wall Street estimates. Net income saw an 8.3-percent increase to $5.33 billion, missing estimates, which the company blamed on a one-time tax adjustment. Shares fell 2.1 percent in after-hours trading.
A huge chunk of the company's revenue increase mostly came from Google's advertising business, $3.4 billion of which comes from other business segments like hardware sales, Google's Play Store and its Cloud services.
Clicks on Google ads or paid clicks - ads on which an advertiser pays only if a user clicks on them - saw a 36-percent increase in the fourth quarter compared to the 33-percent increase seen in the third quarter.
"Our growth in the fourth quarter was exceptional - with revenues up 22 percent year-on-year and 24 percent on a constant currency basis," said Ruth Porat, CFO of Alphabet.
"This performance was led by mobile search and YouTube. We're seeing great momentum in Google's newer investment areas and ongoing strong progress in other bets," Porat added.
According to an article on Reuters, the company's quarterly results were met with a mixed reaction from Wall Street, which sent shares toppling 2.2 percent to $838 in extended trade after closing at $856.98 on Nasdaq.
The article mentioned Google faced a higher tax rate of 22 percent, compared to the 19 percent for the year overall, and this has contributed to the dent in profitability.
"If you look above that, it's business as usual," said analyst James Wang of ARK Investment Management. "There has been no margin compression in the actual business."
Alphabet's Other Bets revenue saw an increase of $262 million from the $150 million a year earlier, while the operating loss of $1.09 billion narrowed from $1.21 billion.