Alphabet topped revenue targets in Q4 but rising costs spook Wall Street (GOOG, GOOGL)
Alphabet, the parent company of internet search giant Google, topped Wall Street revenue targets in its final three months of the year, but rising losses in its "other bets," and swelling costs to partners spooked investors.
Google's stock was down 3.5% in after hours trading.
The company's net revenue rose 23% in the fourth quarter, but its payments to partners rose at a faster 26% clip. Meanwhile losses from its collection of subsidiary businesses including Waymo and Verily were the steepest in two years, nearly doubling year over year.
While Google's earnings per share were well above Wall Street targets, the company said $4 billion were of its profit suprised were due to "net unrealized gains on equity investments that we hold and which may not ultimately be realized."
Here's what Alphabet reported:
- Net Revenue (excluding TAC): $31.69 billion, compared to $31.33 billion analyst expectations.
- Q4 EPS (GAAP): $12.77, compared to $10.86 expected by analysts.
- Other bets revenue: $154 million vs $131 million last year
- Other bet operating loss: ($1.328) billion vs ($748) million last year
- Traffic acquisition costs (TAC): $7.4 billion or 23% of advertising revenue.
- TAC to distribution partners: $3.506 billion, up 26% year over year
We'll be covering Alphabet's Q4 results live as they're released, so hit refresh or click here for the latest updates.
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