In its latest earnings report, YouTube, a subsidiary of Google, revealed significant growth and continues to strengthen its position in the advertising market. The video-sharing platform generated $8.1 billion in advertising revenue, marking its highest Q1 total thus far during the first quarter of 2024. The announcement came as part of Alphabet’s Q1 earnings release and represents a notable 21% increase compared to the previous year. According to StreetAccount, analysts on Wall Street had anticipated YouTube’s ad revenue for the quarter to reach $7.72 billion.
In addition to its advertising revenue, Alphabet’s subscription services, including YouTube Premium and YouTube TV, proved to be significant revenue drivers in 2023. These subscription services collectively generated $15 billion in 2023. It’s important to note that this figure represents revenue from subscriptions alone and does not include the ad sales figures previously mentioned.
Notably, Alphabet, Google’s parent company, reported a total revenue of $80.54 billion, marking a 15% increase compared to the same period last year in its latest quarter. The tech giant saw a substantial rise, reaching $23.66 billion, up 57% with $1.89 per share. Furthermore, these figures surpassed the expectations of Wall Street analysts for the quarter, resulting in a notable 12% surge in the company’s stock during after-hours trading.
Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai said on the earnings call, “Our results in the first quarter reflect strong performance from Search, YouTube and Cloud. Our leadership in AI research and infrastructure, and our global product footprint, position us well for the next wave of AI innovation.”
Additionally, Alphabet declared a cash dividend of $0.20 per share, scheduled to be paid on June 17 and outlined its intention to continue paying quarterly cash dividends moving forward. Furthermore, the Alphabet board of directors approved a substantial buyback program, authorizing the repurchase of $70 billion worth of shares and reported a total workforce of 180,895 employees as of the end of March which reflects a 5% decrease compared to the previous year.