While the rest of the Magnificent 7 were busy face-planting after their earnings calls, Google’s parent company Alphabet decided to show everyone how it’s actually done. And honestly? It was kind of beautiful to watch.
Here’s the deal: When most of Big Tech reported their Q3 numbers, investors basically threw a collective tantrum. Microsoft? Down. Meta? Way down (we’re talking 11% ouch-level down). Tesla? Also having a rough time. But Google? Google was out here like “Hold my search algorithm” and proceeded to jump 5% while everyone else was crying into their quarterly reports.
The Numbers Don’t Lie (And They’re Pretty Sexy)
Let’s talk brass tacks because these numbers are actually wild:
- Revenue hit $102.3 billion (that’s billion with a B, folks) – up 16% from last year
- They made $35 billion in profit. Just… sitting there. Making money.
- Earnings per share came in at $2.87, which absolutely demolished the $2.28 that analysts were expecting
But here’s where it gets interesting. While other tech giants are getting roasted for spending too much on AI (looking at you, Microsoft), Google somehow managed to increase their AI spending and still have investors cheering. It’s like they found the secret sauce for “how to spend billions on robots without freaking out Wall Street.”
The Cloud Business is Absolutely Crushing It
Google Cloud grew 34% to $15.2 billion in revenue. But wait, there’s more – their operating income in the cloud business jumped 89%. That’s not a typo. They’re basically printing money up there in the cloud.
And get this: they’ve got $155 billion worth of business just sitting in their pipeline, waiting to happen. That’s like having a really, really good problem to have.
Why Google Won While Others Lost
The secret? Google’s playing chess while everyone else is playing checkers. Their “full stack approach to AI” (fancy talk for “we do everything ourselves”) is actually working. Their Gemini AI app now has over 650 million monthly users, which is basically the entire population of North America just… using their AI thing.
Meanwhile, their traditional cash cow – Google Search and advertising – is still humming along nicely with $74.2 billion in ad revenue, up 13%. It’s like they’ve got this perfect combo of “reliable old money” and “exciting new tech money.”
The Bottom Line
While other tech companies are getting punished for their AI spending sprees, Google managed to convince investors that their $24 billion in capital expenditures (mostly on servers and data centers) is actually a good thing. They’re planning to spend even more next year, and somehow, investors are cool with it.
At 26 times earnings, Google stock is still relatively cheap compared to some of its peers. JP Morgan just bumped their price target to $340, which suggests there’s still room to run.
Sometimes in this market, it pays to be the company that just quietly executes while everyone else is making noise. Google just proved that point beautifully.