SAN FRANCISCO, April 27 ― Google parent Alphabet Inc yesterday reported first-quarter revenue below expectations as YouTube sharply missed Wall Street targets and ad sales overall were pressured by the war in Ukraine and supply-chain and inflation concerns.
The world's largest provider of search and video ads has been a big winner of the shift to online commerce over the past two years, but the war and the latest economic phase of the pandemic are delivering new challenges.Some advertisers are rethinking ad spending amid elevated interest rates, higher transport costs and shortages of products from couches to cars to infant formula, analysts said.
Analysts said Google's ad sales were in line with expectations overall, but that YouTube's advertising growth was less than expected. Cloud sales grew at a slower pace than a quarter ago, and Google's “other” revenue, which includes app, hardware and subscription sales, were US$6.8 billion, below estimates of US$7.3 billion.
Google is expected to grab 29 per cent, or the leading share, of the US$602 billion global online ad market in 2022, at least the 12th straight year it has been on top, according to Insider Intelligence. Quarterly profit was US$16.44 billion, or US$24.62 per share, missing expectations of US$25.76 per share.