Top Line
Google Parent Alphabet reported first quarter revenue Thursday afternoon, becoming the first first revenue of the US tech giant to report revenue from the first quarter.
Evaluating Google is an important macroeconomic and … more
Important facts
Alphabet generated revenue of $90.2 billion in the first quarter, significantly surpassing its diluted earnings of $2.81 ($34.5 billion) earnings per share ($34.5 billion) and its forecast of $2.01 EPS ($248 billion) (net profit of $2.48 billion).
This amounts to a 12% topline expansion from the first quarter of 2024 and a 49% final growth year-over-year.
The Alphabet’s bread and butter Google search unit generated $50.7 billion in sales compared to the $50.5 billion forecast, while the artificial intelligence-rich Google Cloud brought in $12.3 billion, matching the $12.3 billion forecast.
Google shares rose about 5% in post-hour trading shortly after release, with the $169 afternoon stock price bringing tech companies on track at the highest level in four weeks.
The company also announced approval of its $70 billion share buyback program on Thursday, increasing its quarterly cash dividend by 5% to $0.21.
Google Mama on Customs
In revenue calls, Google CEO Sundar Pichai I declined Before adding a rollback of the De Minimis tariff exemption to “estimate the potential impact” of tariffs, “evidently in 2025 it will cause slight headwinds in advertising businesses primarily from Asian retailers.” According to Bank of America analyst Justin Post, Google is tackling the “impact of negative tariff ad spending,” particularly noting that a decline in spending from Chinese discount retailers Tem and Shane has throttled the flow of goods from the country to US consumers as a tariff of more than 100% on Trump’s Chinese imports. Still, according to the Post, Google has “relatively low” pressure from a choppy operating environment. Around 4% to 5% of Google’s revenue comes from Chinese companies spending on US advertising, according to Bernstein’s analyst Mark Shmulik, which is far less than the 7% to 8% exposure from Facebook Parent Meta, Google’s top digital ad rival.
Google stocks bounced back before earnings as Nasdaq jumped 2%
Stock in Google Rose during its regular session on Thursday ahead of its release increased by $161 from its highest level in two weeks, over 2%. The bounce continued to rally in new hopes that President Donald Trump will continue to retreat from his most aggressive tariff plans, with the high-tech NASDAQ index rising nearly 3% on Thursday, rising for three consecutive days at least 2% rally. This is the first time since 2001 that Nasdaq has risen by so many things in three straight trading sessions According to To a made-to-order investment group. Still, Google’s stock has fallen 16% since the start of the year, slightly worse than the 12% decline in the technological NASDAQ as fears of a slowdown led to Trump’s trade war ate widely on investors’ trust.
Important Quotes
“If it’s difficult to invest in US tech stocks right now, underwriting Google may be the closest thing to impossible,” Shmulik wrote Wednesday. Among the massive unknowns swirling around Google, recession concerns, tariff exposure, the possibility of generating AI that disrupts online searches, a “library of regulatory overhang,” and “potential lightning for international retaliation,” explained Shmulik.
tangent
The “libraries” of the regulatory hurdles facing Google include well-known exclusive probes from US prosecutors. Federal judge Domination Last week, Google maintains advertising technology and illegal monopoly from the Department of Justice Discussed In the case of an ongoing antitrust, the company should be forced to sell Chrome web browsers.
Important background
Google is one of six West Coast tech companies with market value of at least $1 trillion, with Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia, Amazon and Meta participating (these companies often form “Magnificent Seven” along with Elon Musk’s Tesla). Google was an important part of a massive high-tech stock rally as stock prices more than doubled from the end of 2022 to the end of 2024, resulting in a surge in popularity of generator AI.
What should I see
Next week, Amazon, Apple, Meta and Microsoft will all report their revenue from the first three months of 2025. Tesla, the most unworthy member of Magnificent Seven, shared a first-quarter report on Tuesday, missing both in both profit and revenue forecasts.
