Google reports first Q3 under the auspices of parent company Alphabet

22 Oct 2015

Google CEO Sundar Pichai. Photo via Maurizio Pesce via Flickr/Creative Commons

The first time reporting under the corporate umbrella of Alphabet and Google has blown away Wall St expectations with profits of $3.98bn on revenues of $18.7bn, which were up 21pc year-on-year.

“Our Q3 results show the strength of Google’s business, particularly in mobile search,” said Ruth Porat, CFO of Alphabet and Google.

“With six products now having more than 1bn users globally, we’re excited about the opportunities ahead of Google, and across Alphabet,” she said.

Websites generated revenues of $13bn, up 16pc on last year, while Google Network Member websites saw revenues rise 4pc to $3.6bn.

Total advertising revenues worked out at $16.7bn, up 13pc on the previous year, while other revenues came in at $1.8bn.

Earnings per share were $7.35, ahead of analyst expectations of $7.21 per share.

A collection of companies known as Alphabet

It is the first quarterly results that Google has reported since the company was restructured as a holding company under a new entity entitled Alphabet.

In August, Alphabet announced the restructure, naming former Android chief Sundar Pichai as CEO of Google.

Alphabet Inc is now a conglomerate under which the search giant will be a subsidiary alongside Calico, Google Ventures, Google Capital, Google X, Fiber and Nest. Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin are CEO and president of Alphabet respectively.

The name Alphabet basically is code for alpha-bet – alpha is the investment return above benchmark and bet is what Google does on new areas like mobile and video.

John Kennedy is a journalist who served as editor of Silicon Republic for 17 years

editorial@siliconrepublic.com