SerpApi.Org
YouTube ad revenue increased 13% in the second quarter compared with the same period a year ago, helping to pace parent Alphabet’s financial performance.
Total revenue rose 24% in the quarter to hit $119.8 billion, while earnings per share nearly quadrupled to $9.11. Both metrics were ahead of Wall Street expectations.
YouTube pulled in $11.055 billion in ad revenue, showing double-digit growth that has eluded its traditional media rivals in recent years. Along with its deep well of creator content, YouTube is increasingly looking to cross over into traditional entertainment, landing rights to the Academy Awards and NFL football games.
In the company’s earnings release, Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai flagged YouTube’s popularity as a way for people to keep current. “Month over month, people turn to YouTube for major world events, with over 1.7 billion unique viewers watching World Cup-related videos during the FIFA World Cup,” he wrote.
Debate about the stocks of Alphabet and the other “magnificent seven” tech giants (Nvidia, Apple, Amazon, Meta, Tesla and Microsoft) preceded to the earnings release. Some Wall Streeters fret about a recent divergence between the “mag seven” and semiconductor shares, given that chipmakers have slumped recently despite their key role in the AI boom.
Google, initially a laggard in AI, has moved the head of the sector over the last few quarters, though it also faces questions about strategic plans for Gemini and other tools.
