Google's rise helps Alphabet post $32.32 bn in revenue

Riding on Google's growing ad business, Alphabet Inc posted $32.32 billion in revenue for the fourth quarter of 2017 -- up 24 per cent (year-on-year) from $26.06 billion during the same quarter in 2016.

After deducting its traffic acquisition costs, Google's revenue alone was $25.87 billion.

Overall, Alphabet posted revenues of $110.9 billion for 2017 -- up 23 per cent year-on-year.

"Our full year operating income growth continues to underscore our core strength, and on top of this, we continue to make substantial investments for the long-term in exciting new businesses," Ruth Porat, Chief Financial Officer of Alphabet, said in a statement late on Thursday.

Alphabet's adjusted net income for the quarter was $6.84 billion -- compared to $5.33 billion during the same quarter previous year.

Google's Cloud business and its hardware revenue reached $4.69 billion, from $3.4 billion in Q4 of 2016.

Google's Cloud business now generates over $1 billion per quarter, said CEO Sundar Pichai during the investors' call.

"Google Cloud Platform is the fastest growing major Public Cloud provider in the world," Pichai said.

Google Cloud Platform is behind Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft's Azure in the Public Cloud market.

He also added that the company sold tens of millions of Chromecast and Google Home devices in 2017.

According to media reports, Google, however, missed profit expectations, reporting $9.70 per share. Analysts had expected $9.96 per share.

--IANS

na/in