Alphabet's profit slides over $1 bn as Search & Cloud biz grow in Q1

San Francisco, April 27

Google parent company Alphabet's net profit dropped to $16.4 billion compared to last year's $17.9 billion in the first quarter of this year, as its Search and Cloud businesses saw great momentum.

Alphabet registered $68 billion in revenue for Q1 2022, a 23 per cent increase year-over-year.

The company's Search revenue reached $39 billion while its overall advertising business, including Search, YouTube and ad networks pulled in $54 billion in the first quarter alone.

"Q1 saw strong growth in Search and Cloud, in particular, which are both helping people and businesses as the digital transformation continues," Sundar Pichai, CEO of Alphabet and Google, said in a statement late on Tuesday.

He said that the company will keep investing in great products and services, and "creating opportunities for partners and local communities around the world".

Alphabet had registered a record-breaking 2021 with annual revenue of $257 billion.

YouTube advertising revenue was also up, reaching $6.86 billion, but grew slower at 20 per cent as compared to 30 per cent in the same period.

"We continue to support our community of creators, advertisers, and viewers. With over 2 billion monthly signed-in users, we are well-positioned to do this," said Pichai over an earnings call with analysts.

The company saw its Q1 Cloud revenue grew 44 per cent (on-year) with continued strong performance across Google Cloud Platform and Workspace.