Business
Google Parent Alphabet Surges Past $400 Billion Revenue for First Time
Alphabet Inc., Google’s parent company, reported blockbuster fourth-quarter results on Feb. 4, 2026, surpassing Wall Street expectations and pushing full-year 2025 revenue above $400 billion for the first time in its history, fueled by surging demand for AI-powered products across Search, YouTube and Google Cloud.
The company posted consolidated revenue of $113.8 billion for the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2025, up 18% from $96.5 billion a year earlier (or 17% in constant currency). Earnings per share reached $2.82, a 31% increase, beating analyst estimates of $2.63 EPS and $111.3 billion in revenue, according to FactSet consensus.
For the full year, Alphabet generated $402.8 billion in revenue — up 15% from 2024 — marking the milestone first crossing of the $400 billion threshold. Net income rose 30% to approximately $34.5 billion for the quarter, with full-year figures reflecting strong profitability amid heavy AI investments.
CEO Sundar Pichai called it “a tremendous quarter for Alphabet,” highlighting the launch of Gemini 3 as a major milestone. “Annual revenues exceeded $400 billion for the first time,” he said on the earnings call. “We have great momentum. Our first-party models like Gemini now process over 10 billion tokens per minute via direct API use by customers, and the Gemini App has grown to over 750 million monthly active users.”
Search & other revenue accelerated with 17% growth, driven by AI enhancements expanding usage. YouTube crossed $60 billion in annual revenue across ads and subscriptions, with paid subscriptions across consumer services topping 325 million, led by Google One and YouTube Premium. Google Cloud revenue surged 48% to $17.7 billion in Q4, ending 2025 at an annual run rate over $70 billion, propelled by enterprise AI infrastructure, solutions and core GCP products.
The results underscore Alphabet’s dominance in the AI race. Operating income rose 16% to reflect a 31.6% margin, despite a $2.1 billion employee compensation charge for Waymo. Operating cash flow hit a record $52.4 billion in Q4.
Investors reacted mixed to the report. Shares initially rose on the beat but whipsawed after-hours as Alphabet guided to massive 2026 capital expenditures of $175 billion to $185 billion — nearly double 2025’s $91.4 billion — to scale AI compute and infrastructure. CFO Anat Ashkenazi noted supply constraints ahead, with Pichai acknowledging the year would be “supply constrained” to meet demand.
The hefty CapEx guidance — far above analyst expectations of around $115 billion — signals aggressive bets on data centers, TPUs, GPUs and other AI hardware. It follows similar moves by rivals like Meta, which projected $115-135 billion for 2026.
Analysts praised the acceleration but flagged risks from elevated spending. “They passed $400 billion of total revenues for the first time, and announced plans to spend around $180 billion in 2026 to increase their chances to continue these colossal totals,” said one analyst.
Google Services revenue climbed 14% to $95.9 billion, led by Search (17%), subscriptions/devices (17%) and YouTube ads (9%). The cloud segment’s 30.1% operating margin (up from 17.5%) reflected efficiency gains amid explosive growth.
The earnings come as Alphabet navigates antitrust scrutiny, AI competition and regulatory pressures. Yet the results affirm its AI strategy: Gemini adoption (over 8 million paid enterprise seats at 2,800+ companies), a $240 billion cloud backlog, and AI driving “expansionary” Search moments.
Pichai emphasized broad impact: “We’re seeing our AI investments and infrastructure drive revenue and growth across the board.” He highlighted YouTube’s $60 billion milestone and consumer subscriptions’ strength.
Wall Street had anticipated solid growth but the scale of cloud acceleration and AI momentum exceeded forecasts. The $400 billion annual mark — up from $350 billion in 2024 — cements Alphabet’s position among the world’s most valuable companies, with market cap hovering near $4 trillion.
The report also reflects broader tech trends: AI fueling ad dollars (via better targeting and performance), cloud as a high-margin growth engine, and subscriptions providing stable revenue.
Looking ahead, 2026 CapEx plans underscore commitment to AI leadership despite costs. Pichai noted challenges in supply but confidence in opportunities.
For investors, the beat reinforces Alphabet’s resilience. Shares traded volatile post-earnings, but long-term bulls point to AI tailwinds outweighing near-term spending pressures.
Alphabet’s 2025 performance — first $400 billion year — caps a transformative period, positioning the company to capitalize on AI’s next wave while defending core businesses.
Swissquote Group reports 2026 guidance below consensus on growth investments
Annual earnings grew at an annual rate of 3.8% in the November to January period, the Office for National Statistics says.
Stocks rose for a second day in a row—and they didn’t even need oil prices to fall this time around.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 47 points, or 0.1%. The S&P 500 was up 0.3%. The Nasdaq Composite was up 0.5%. The major indexes all rose together for a second day in a row for the first time since Feb. 24 and 25, according to Dow Jones Market Data.
Futures tracking the S&P 500 and Dow were both lower before reversing as oil prices pulled back from their overnight highs. At one point the Dow was up 1%, but stocks pulled back from their highs this afternoon as West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures gained 2.9% to $96.21 a barrel.
ECB to talk tough as Iran war raises inflation fears
Justin Fris and Mark Beyer reflect on the 60th anniversary of iron ore exports out of WA.
The Australian share market has sharply fallen to a nearly four-month low after oil prices spiked, gold prices plunged, rate cut hopes dimmed and the war with Iran intensified.
Q4: 2026-03-18 Earnings Summary
EPS of $0.08 beats by $0.00
| Revenue of $294.65M (22.71% Y/Y) beats by $1.99M
Seeking Alpha’s transcripts team is responsible for the development of all of our transcript-related projects. We currently publish thousands of quarterly earnings calls per quarter on our site and are continuing to grow and expand our coverage. The purpose of this profile is to allow us to share with our readers new transcript-related developments. Thanks, SA Transcripts Team
A spat over river views between owners of multi-million-dollar houses in Applecross has escalated to the state’s highest court.
Speaking on the scale of the escalation, Aziz said, “Look, it is very difficult to say how bad or how big it is going to be or how long it is going to last.” He noted that while the recent spike in oil prices reflects rising market anxiety, “the spike in the oil market clearly shows you that the market is nervous… but that is not the story.” According to him, the global oil market has become increasingly fragmented, making widely tracked benchmarks less relevant for key economies. “The oil market has been fragmented completely… Brent reflects the Atlantic Basin, but countries like China and India depend on the Middle East,” he said, adding that regional benchmarks tell a more accurate story. “Oman and Dubai prices were already above 150… and the India basket was at $145,” Aziz pointed out, concluding that “we need to stop looking at Brent… Oman and Dubai prices are what really matter for Asian economies.”
On the US Federal Reserve’s policy outlook, Aziz pushed back against expectations of easing, maintaining that his view has consistently ruled out rate cuts this year. “We did not have a rate cut in 2026 in the beginning of the year and in fact, the next move would be a rate hike in 2027,” he said. He emphasized that this assessment is rooted in labour market dynamics rather than recent geopolitical developments. “This has nothing to do with the war… it was based on US labour market dynamics,” Aziz explained. Even modest job growth, he argued, could sustain inflationary pressures. “Even a modest improvement in jobs… will push wages up and keep inflation above 2%,” he said. He also highlighted a more cautious stance from the Fed on energy-driven inflation, noting that policymakers indicated they would not look through such price increases “too likely.”
Turning to bond markets, Aziz said the more important development is not just the rise in yields but the shift in expectations reflected in the yield curve. “The market took the Fed call in a hawkish tone… and flattened the curve,” he observed, adding that “it is the flattening… rather than the move up in the 10-year rate that is the bigger story.” As inflation concerns persist and hopes for rate cuts fade, he expects this trend to continue. “As hopes of rate cuts in 2026 fade… you are going to see much more flattening,” he said. Aziz also warned that if inflation becomes entrenched, it could start affecting demand. “If inflation becomes sticky… you are going to start seeing demand destruction,” he said, adding that even the anticipation of such a slowdown could influence market pricing. “In a demand destruction environment… it is hard to see the 10-year actually blow up,” he noted.
Overall, Aziz’s assessment points to a more complex global backdrop where traditional indicators may not fully capture underlying risks. With oil markets fragmenting, inflation staying persistent, and central banks remaining cautious, investors may need to look beyond surface-level signals to navigate the evolving landscape.
Business
Micron Technology, Inc. 2026 Q2 – Results – Earnings Call Presentation (NASDAQ:MU) 2026-03-19
Q2: 2026-03-18 Earnings Summary
EPS of $12.20 beats by $3.47
| Revenue of $23.86B (196.29% Y/Y) beats by $4.35B
Seeking Alpha’s transcripts team is responsible for the development of all of our transcript-related projects. We currently publish thousands of quarterly earnings calls per quarter on our site and are continuing to grow and expand our coverage. The purpose of this profile is to allow us to share with our readers new transcript-related developments. Thanks, SA Transcripts Team
Swissquote Group reports 2026 guidance below consensus on growth investments
China Gold Reserves Hit Record 2,309 Tonnes as PBOC Marks 16 Straight Months of Buying
Chelle Names Ndidi, Iwobi, Lookman in Super Eagles Squad for Iran, Jordan Friendlies
-
Crypto World5 days agoHYPE Token Enters Net Deflation as HyperCore Buybacks Outpace Staking Rewards
-
Tech3 days agoYour Legally Registered ‘Motorcycle’ Might Not Count Under Proposed US Law
-
Fashion6 days agoWeekend Open Thread: Addict Lip Glow
-
Tech2 days agoAre Split Spacebars the Next Big Gaming Keyboard Trend?
-
Sports5 days ago
Why Duke and Michigan Are Dead Even Entering Selection Sunday
-
Business4 days agoSearch for Savannah Guthrie’s Mother Enters Seventh Week with No Arrests
-
Business5 days agoUS Airports Launch Donation Drives for Unpaid TSA Workers as Partial Government Shutdown Enters Fifth Week
-
Crypto World5 days ago
Coinbase and Bybit in Investment Talks: Could Bybit Finally Enter the US Crypto Market?
-
Business3 days agoAustralian shares drop as Iran war enters third week
-
Business5 days agoCountry star Brantley Gilbert enters growing non-alcoholic beer market
-
Crypto World3 days agoCrypto Lender BlockFills Enters Chapter 11 with Up to $500M in Liabilities
-
Sports6 days agoCollege Basketball Best Bets: Conference Tournament Semifinal Picks
-
Politics22 hours agoThe House | The new register to protect children from their abusers shows Parliament at its best
-
Business6 days agoTrump demands Powell cut rates as Iran conflict raises energy prices
-
Fashion3 days ago25 Celebrities with Curly Hair That Are Naturally Beautiful
-
News Videos15 hours agoRBA board divided on rate cut, unusually buoyant share market | Finance Report | ABC NEWS
-
Crypto World6 days agoSenate Votes to Include CBDC Ban in Bipartisan Housing Bill
-
NewsBeat6 days agoDeane Road crash near Bolton colleges and university
-
News Videos6 days agoTom Lee: The 100x Opportunity EVEN Bigger Than Bitcoin (New Ethereum Prediction 2026)
-
Crypto World15 hours agoCanada’s FINTRAC revokes registrations of 23 crypto MSBs in AML crackdown
You must be logged in to post a comment Login