YouTube Ad Revenue Rises 13%, Helping Alphabet Beat Q2 Expectations

YouTube CEO Neal Mohan at the company’s Brandcast event in May 2024
Noam Galai/Getty Images for YouTube

YouTube advertising revenue climbed 13% in the second quarter, reaching $8.663 billion, contributing to better-than expected results at parent Alphabet.

Total revenue reached $84.7 billion, up 14%, and earnings per share hit $1.89.

The revenue and earnings figures both came in ahead of Wall Street analysts’ expectations.

Analysts had called for ad growth of 16% at YouTube, but the miss didn’t appear to alter most investor perception of the quarter. Google shares rose 2% in after-hours trading after the financials were released.

Momentum has been growing at YouTube over the past couple of years, with metrics from Nielsen and others showing the video giant continuing to make gains. Its pay-TV offering, YouTube TV, has also been on the rise, recently passing 8 million subscribers and attracting new customers by virtue of YouTube’s deal with the NFL for Sunday Ticket, which took effect last year.

The traditional media sector is confronting some softness in the advertising business, mainly in the TV upfront, and its streaming efforts have been stymied a bit by a flood of new ad-supported entries into the marketplace. The broader ad sector is improving noticeably as 2024 unfolds, however, with YouTube positioned well to thrive in the current climate. It has even overcome skepticism about its TikTok rival YouTube Shorts, which has come into its own.

“Our strong performance this quarter highlights ongoing strength in Search and momentum in Cloud,” CEO Sundar Pichai said in the company’s earnings release. Ruth Porat, President and Chief Investment Officer; CFO noted that Cloud for the first time exceeded $10 billion in quarterly revenues and
$1 billion in operating profit.

MORE to come …

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