Alphabet’s Quarterly Results Show Strong Cloud Growth
Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL) reported fourth-quarter revenue of $113.8 billion, an 18% increase year-over-year, surpassing analysts’ expectations of $111.48 billion. Earnings per share rose 31% to $2.82, outperforming the forecast of $2.64. The Google Cloud division saw revenue surge 48% to $17.7 billion, significantly outpacing Microsoft’s Azure Cloud growth of 39% and showing strong demand for AI services.
Operating margins for Google Cloud climbed to 30.1%, up from 23.7% the previous quarter, reflecting improved profitability. Alphabet announced plans to nearly double its capital expenditures to approximately $175-$180 billion by 2026, up from around $91 billion in 2023, in response to increasing demand for cloud and AI services. Despite a 65% rise in share price over the past year, Alphabet remains attractively priced at less than 30 times forward earnings.
