Alphabet's second-quarter net profit soared more than 166 per cent year-on-year on the back of strong revenue growth in its advertising business.
Net profit at Google's parent company surged to $18.5 billion in the three months ending June 30, about $11.6bn more than the same period a year earlier.
Our long-term investments in AI and Google Cloud are helping us drive significant improvements in everyone’s digital experience
Sundar Pichai,
chief executive of Google and Alphabet
Revenue during the quarter increased 61.5 per cent on an annual basis to $61.9bn, beating the $55.2bn average analysts' estimate.
In the second quarter, “there was a rising tide of online activity in many parts of the world and we are proud that our services helped so many consumers and businesses” Sundar Pichai, chief executive of Google and Alphabet, said.
“Our long-term investments in AI [artificial intelligence] and Google Cloud are helping us drive significant improvements in everyone’s digital experience,” added Mr Pichai.
The California-based company’s advertising revenue from Search, YouTube and other activities soared 68.8 per cent to $50.4bn in the second quarter, almost $20.5bn more than the same period last year.
This was the fastest annualised growth rate in advertising revenue in more than four years.
The company's stock was down about 1.6 per cent at $2,638 a share after the earnings announcement.
Retail was one of the biggest contributors to the company’s advertising growth, Google’s chief business officer, Philipp Schindler, said on an earnings call.
The total revenue from the cloud business grew an annual 53.9 per cent to more than $4.6bn, while revenue from other bets, or subsidiaries, increased almost 29.7 per cent yearly to $192 million.
Other bets are derived mainly through the sale of internet offerings as well as licensing and research and development services. This includes Alphabet’s X lab, self-driving unit Waymo and other non-Google companies.
The company’s expenditure on R&D rose 11.6 per cent on an annual basis to $7.7bn in the second quarter.
“Our strong second-quarter revenues reflect elevated consumer online activity and broad-based strength in advertiser spending. Again, we benefited from excellent execution across the board by our teams,” said Ruth Porat, chief financial officer of Google and Alphabet.
YouTube added more than $7bn to Alphabet’s revenues, rising about 83.7 per cent annually and was close to streaming service company Netflix’s second-quarter revenue of $7.3bn.
Mr Pichai said YouTube is “the fastest growing consumer service” that the company has.
“In the US, we have over 120 million people who watch YouTube on TVs every month and that’s up from, like, a hundred million last year,” he said.
This month, YouTube rolled out the beta, or test, version of Shorts — its short-form video experience to rival popular Chinese app TikTok — in more than 100 countries, including the Middle East and North Africa region.
Shorts has surpassed 15 billion daily views, up from 6.5 billion daily views in March, Mr Pichai said.
The company expects a “more muted tailwind to revenues in the third quarter,” said Ms Porat, and added that it is too early to predict the longer-term trends.
The biog
Name: Dhabia Khalifa AlQubaisi
Age: 23
How she spends spare time: Playing with cats at the clinic and feeding them
Inspiration: My father. He’s a hard working man who has been through a lot to provide us with everything we need
Favourite book: Attitude, emotions and the psychology of cats by Dr Nicholes Dodman
Favourit film: 101 Dalmatians - it remind me of my childhood and began my love of dogs
Word of advice: By being patient, good things will come and by staying positive you’ll have the will to continue to love what you're doing
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
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Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
David Haye record
Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Xpanceo
Started: 2018
Founders: Roman Axelrod, Valentyn Volkov
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Smart contact lenses, augmented/virtual reality
Funding: $40 million
Investor: Opportunity Venture (Asia)