Courtesy of YouTube
YouTube accelerated back into high growth for the second quarter of 2021, as ad revenue hit a record $7.0 billion for the period.
Advertising revenue at the world’s biggest video platform jumped 84%, up from $3.81 billion in the year-earlier period when COVID put a damper on marketing spending. Alphabet, Google’s parent company, reported YouTube’s ad revenue as part of its Q2 earnings — which blew past Wall Street expectations.
Overall, the internet giant posted revenue of $61.88 billion and net income of $18.5 billion (or $27.26 per share) — also quarterly records. Analysts on average expected Alphabet to report Q2 revenue of $56.02 billion and EPS of $19.21, according to financial research provider Refinitiv.
“In Q2, there was a rising tide of online activity in many parts of the world, and we’re proud that our services helped so many consumers and businesses,” Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and Alphabet, said in announcing the results. “Our long-term investments in AI and Google Cloud are helping us drive significant improvements in everyone’s digital experience.”
Revenue for Google Search came in at $35.85 billion in the second quarter, up 68% year over year. Google Cloud revenue jumped 54%, $4.63 billion.
The revenue gains by Google and YouTube in the most recent quarter come after the company experienced a sales slowdown in Q2 of 2020, as advertisers pulled back on spending in the earlier days of the COVID pandemic. Ad revenue reported for YouTube excludes fees for subscription-based products such as YouTube Premium and YouTube TV.
Alphabet reported 144,056 as of the end of June, up 13% from 127,498 a year prior.
Variety's Todd Spangler contributed to this post.
https://variety.com/2021/digital/news/youtube-q2-revenue-google-alphabet-earnings-1235028413/
