Google parent company Alphabet has reported some, though not exactly significant, growth in its advertising revenue for the quarter ending 30 June.
Its Google advertising business saw revenue grow from US$56.2 billion to US$58.1 billion(AU$83 billion and AU$85.6 billion, respectively) reflecting the company’s belief that a slower macroeconomic environment is hampering ad spend.
The YouTube ads business, meanwhile, saw a slightly more favourable 4.4 per cent growth in revenue from US$7.3 billion to almost US$7.7 billion (AU$10.8 billion and AU$11.2 billion, respectively). The platform had faced heightened competition for ad dollars with the rise of TikTok and Instagram Reels.
However, its Google Network ads, which include sponsored listings in Maps, for example, saw an almost five per cent decline in growth.
“Our financial results reflect continued resilience in Search, with an
acceleration of revenue growth in both Search and YouTube, as well as momentum in Cloud,” said Ruth Porat, Alphabet and Google’s chief financial officer.
The big focus for Alphabet and the market, however, was not is relatively reliable pure advertising play. Instead, Google’s advancements in AI and its attempts to get its AI-powered Bard chatbot off the ground remained the focus of discussions.
“There’s exciting momentum across our products and the company, which drove strong results this quarter. Our continued leadership in AI and our excellence in engineering and innovation are driving the next evolution of Search, and improving all our services,” said Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai.
Overall, the earnings will make heartening news for Google and reverses the trend of declining ad revenues. In its Q1 2023 earnings, the company reported a second straight quarterly drop in ad revenue, despite the company saying it saw “some stabilisation” in the advertising market.
