“Alphabet stock drops 6% after a Q4 revenue miss despite an EPS beat. Traders react to weak cloud growth—what’s next for Nasdaq and tech stocks?”, — write: www.fxempire.com
YouTube and Google Cloud Performance Mixed Key business segments delivered varied results. YouTube advertising revenue came in at $10.47 billion, surpassing StreetAccount estimates of $10.23 billion. This signals continued strength in digital ad spending despite broader concerns in the sector.
Google Cloud, however, reported revenue of $11.96 billion, missing the expected $12.19 billion. This shortfall suggests that cloud competition remains intense, particularly with rivals like Microsoft and Amazon expanding their presence in enterprise cloud services.
Meanwhile, Alphabet’s traffic acquisition costs (TAC), a key expense related to securing advertising placements, totaled $14.89 billion, slightly below expectations of $15.01 billion. Lower TAC can be a positive sign for profitability, but the revenue shortfall raises concerns about ad growth sustainability.
Market Outlook: Short-Term Bearish on Revenue Concerns Alphabet’s after-hours stock decline suggests traders are reacting more to the revenue miss than the EPS beat. The weakness in Google Cloud revenue is particularly notable, as investors are closely watching its performance amid increasing cloud competition.
While YouTube ad revenue exceeded expectations, the slight revenue miss overall has cast doubt on near-term growth momentum. Traders should expect volatility in Alphabet’s stock as the market digests these results. In the short term, sentiment remains bearish, with potential downside pressure unless the company provides stronger revenue growth signals in upcoming quarters.