YouTube's weaker than expected Q2 performance hurts Google parent Alphabet

A 13% year-over-year increase in revenue from YouTube ads during the second quarter of 2024 and a 13.8% annual increase in revenue from Google Search ads helped lead Alphabet subsidiary Google to report an 11% annual gain in advertising for Q2 of 2024. Google Search ad revenue rose from $42.63 billion to $48.51 billion year-over-year and YouTube ad revenue amounted to $8.66 billion up from the $7.67 billion that was generated during the same quarter last year.

Google said that for the three months ended in June 2024, total Google advertising revenue came to $64.62 billion compared to the $58.14 billion in advertising revenue that came into Google's coffers during the second quarter of 2023. Traffic acquisition costs rose 6.8% to $13.39 billion which was well worth it to Google thanks to the aforementioned 11% annual hike in Q2 advertising revenue.

The business unit which includes Pixel devices, Google subscriptions, platforms, and devices, saw top-line growth of 14.4% to $9.31 billion from $8.14 billion. That could indicate growing demand for Pixel phones, tablets, smartwatches, and earbuds. Google's Cloud business was very strong with the top-line rising 28.8% to $10.35 billion compared to the $8.03 billion that this business generated during the same quarter last year. This was the first time that Google's Cloud business topped $10 billion in revenue and $1 billion in operating profit during a single quarter.

Alphabet's total revenue of $84.74 billion during the second quarter was up from the $74.60 billion reported during the 2023 second quarter. This was a 13.6% increase and helped Alphabet report a 28.6% gain in net income to $23.62 billion for the second quarter of 2024. During the same quarter last year, Alphabet had net income of $18.37 billion. Diluted earnings per share, which assumes the conversion to equity of all convertible debt, was reported by Alphabet to be $1.89 for  Q2 of 2024, up 31.3% from the $1.44 reported for the same quarter in 2023.

The report did not sit well with Alphabet investors; the shares rose 12 cents during the regular trading session to $181.79 but plunged $3.96 or 2.18% to $177.83 in after-hours trading after the earnings were released. While Alphabet's earnings and revenue were higher than expected, YouTube's performance disappointed investors which explains the subsequent sell-off in the stock during the extra trading session.