Alphabet revenue declines for 1st time, Google Cloud grows 43%

San Francisco, July 31 (IANS) Despite strong growth in Google Cloud, Alphabet saw its revenue declining for the first time to $38.3 billion (down 1.7 per cent from the year-ago period) in the quarter that ended June 30.

The company reported a net income of $6.96 billion in Q2.

Alphabet shares were up less than 1 per cent after the Q2 earnings report.

“We’re working to help people, businesses and communities in these uncertain times,” said Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai.

“As people increasingly turn to online services, our platforms — from Cloud to Google Play to YouTube — are helping our partners provide important services and support their businesses,” Pichai added.

Google Search and others logged $21.3 billion in sales (down 9.8 per cent) while YouTube ads posted $3.81 billion in revenue (up 5.8 per cent).

Google Cloud registered revenue of $3 billion (up a massive 43 per cent).

“In the second quarter our total revenues were $38.3 billion, driven by gradual improvement in our ads business and strong growth in Google Cloud and other revenues,” said Ruth Porat, Chief Financial Officer of Alphabet and Google.

“We continue to navigate through a difficult global economic environment.”

The company said it has authorised $28 billion more in stock buybacks.

–IANS

na/