Alphabet's Q4 Revenue Falls Short, Cloud Growth Slows
Key Metrics:
* Revenue (excluding partner payouts): $81.6 billion (est. $82.8 billion)
* Net income: $2.15 per share (est. $2.13 per share)
* Capital expenditures: $75 billion (est. $57.9 billion)
Cloud Unit Underperforms:
* Google Cloud revenue: $12 billion (est. $12.3 billion)
* Lags behind Amazon.com and Microsoft Corp. in market share.
* Alphabet emphasizes need for continued investment to meet demand.
AI Competition Intensifies:
* Chinese startup DeepSeek's AI model raises efficiency concerns.
* Google faces pressure to demonstrate ROI from AI investments.
Legal Challenges Ongoing:
* US judge ruled Google monopolized search market.
* Justice Department and states allege antitrust violations in ad technology.
* Key proceedings expected in 2025.
Other Businesses:
* Search advertising: $54 billion (est. $53.8 billion)
* YouTube revenue: $10.5 billion (est. $10.2 billion)
* Other Bets: $400 million (est. $592 million)
* Waymo testing in 10 new cities in 2025.
* Waymo averaging 150,000 trips per week.
Market Reaction:
* Alphabet shares drop as much as 8.9%.
* Investors demand evidence of sustained momentum across businesses.