Google parent Alphabet saw its stock drop 8% in after-hours trading after reporting fourth-quarter revenue that fell short of expectations.
The company posted $96.47 billion in revenue, slightly below the expected $96.56 billion. However, earnings per share exceeded estimates, coming in at $2.15 vs. $2.13 expected.
Key Financials from Q4 2025:
- Revenue: $96.47 billion (vs. $96.56 billion expected)
- Earnings per share: $2.15 (vs. $2.13 expected)
- YouTube ad revenue: $10.47 billion (above the expected $10.23 billion)
- Google Cloud revenue: $11.96 billion (below the expected $12.19 billion)
- Traffic acquisition costs (TAC): $14.89 billion (vs. $15.01 billion expected)
AI Expansion and Future Investments
Despite the revenue miss, Alphabet announced a $75 billion capital expenditure plan for 2025, focusing on artificial intelligence.
The company remains committed to expanding its AI capabilities, even as Google Cloud underperformed expectations.
While Google Cloud revenue was lower than expected, it still showed a 30% growth year-over-year, highlighting strong long-term potential.
Stock Market Reaction
The initial after-hours drop suggests investor concerns about Alphabet’s slower-than-expected cloud growth, despite strong performance in YouTube advertising and AI investments.
With AI driving Google’s future strategy, the market will closely watch how Alphabet balances revenue growth, cloud expansion, and AI innovation in the coming quarters.
