Google blasts past expectations with a big rebound in Q3 earnings

Revenue for Search, YouTube, and "Other Revenue" (which includes Pixel phones) were all up.

What you need to know

• Alphabet's earning for Q3 came in at $46.17 billion, beating estimates by almost $4 billion.
• Revenue from search and YouTube ads are up, something investors had worried about amid the pandemic.
• Starting next quarter, Alphabet will breakout Google Cloud revenue in earnings — which would include revenue from Google Cloud Platform, Google Workplace and other enterprise and AI-related business services.

'Tis the season for stockholders! Sorry, there's only so many ways to jazz up the end of a financial quarter and the number-crunching earning calls that surround them. Anyway, Alphabet — Google's parent company — had its earnings call this afternoon just after market close, proudly telling investors that it had bear its earnings estimates for the quarter and had rebounded after having to report its first ever decline back in the second quarter.

"Total revenues of $46.2 billion in the third quarter reflect broad based growth led by an increase in advertiser spend[ing] in Search and YouTube as well as continued strength in Google Cloud and Play."

Another bright spot on the report was that "Google other" was up in the revenue breakdown, earning $5.4 billion up from $4 billion from last's Q3. The category includes Google Pixel phones like the Pixel 4a that launched in August, Nest hardware, as well as non-ad revenue from YouTube like video purchases, YouTube Premium and YouTube TV subscriptions, and other Google projects.

The decision to break out and further break down Google Cloud earnings in future earnings report is great news for investors, as it'll give more insight into a segment of Google's business that is quickly growing and diversifying.

The Google news overshadowing today's announcement, the DOJ's antitrust lawsuit was addressed by CEO Sundar Pichai: "Regarding the DoJ's lawsuit, we believe that our products are creating significant benefits and we'll confidently make our case. Our company's focus remains on continuing our work to build a Search product that people love and value."

Google's latest

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by Ara Wagoner