Alphabet, parent company of Google and YouTube, missed analyst estimates for Q4 results, as YouTube’s ad revenue again suffered a year-over-year decline.
Overall, Alphabet posted revenue of $76.05 billion, up just 1%, and net income of $13.62 billion (down 34% versus $20.6 billion in Q4 2021), or earnings of $1.05 per share. Google's ad revenue fell from $61.2 billion in Q4 2021 to $59 billion in Q4 2022. YouTube ad revenue was $7.96 billion in Q4, down 7.8% from $8.63 billion a year earlier. This is YouTube’s second consecutive quarter of year-on-year ad revenue declines.

Google Cloud, meanwhile, lost $830 million in Q4, better than the $1.7 billion it lost in the same quarter last year. Google Cloud revenue rose 32%, to $7.32 billion in Q4, while the segment narrowed its operating loss to $480 million, versus an operating loss of $890 million in the year-ago quarter.

Pitchai shared that he expects “great momentum” in Google’s Cloud segment, YouTube subscriptions (which the company does not break out in its earnings) and Google Pixel devices. Pichai said YouTube Shorts, the platform’s TikTok-style video format, now averages more than 50 billion daily views, up from the 30 billion announced in early 2022.

'"We have significant work underway to improve all aspects of our cost structure, in support of our investments in our highest growth priorities to deliver long-term, profitable growth," Alphabet CFO Ruth Porat said in a statement.

During the earnings call, Pichai also shared that Google will make AI-based language models available soon. These models will serve as "companion to search", he said. 

Alphabet’s results are its first since it laid off some 12,000 employees in January. CEO Sundar Pichai had blamed the layoffs on Alphabet’s decision to staff up to meet the company’s demand during the pandemic.