By Sam Boughedda
Google parent company Alphabet's (NASDAQ:GOOGL) shares fell more than 6.5% after-hours following the publication of its third-quarter earnings, which saw it miss profit and revenue estimates.
The tech giant reported earnings per share of $1.06, $0.22 below the analyst consensus estimate of $1.28, while revenue for the quarter came in at $69.09 billion compared to the consensus estimate of $71.34 billion.
At the time of writing, Alphabet shares are trading below the $100 per share mark at over $97.
The company said its results in the quarter were impacted by foreign exchange headwinds.
“Our third quarter revenues were $69.1 billion, up 6% versus last year or up 11% on a constant currency basis. Financial results for the third quarter reflect healthy fundamental growth in Search and momentum in Cloud, while affected by foreign exchange. We’re working to realign resources to fuel our highest growth priorities," said Ruth Porat, CFO of Alphabet and Google.
Google Cloud revenue came in at $6.87 billion, while Google Services revenue was $61.38 billion. In addition, YouTube ads revenue in the quarter was $7.07 billion, while traffic acquisition costs were $11.83 billion.
The company's number of employees increased to 186,779 from 150,028 in Q3 2021.
"We’re sharpening our focus on a clear set of product and business priorities. Product announcements we’ve made in just the past month alone have shown that very clearly, including significant improvements to both Search and Cloud, powered by AI, and new ways to monetize YouTube Shorts. We are focused on both investing responsibly for the long term and being responsive to the economic environment," commented Sundar Pichai, CEO of Alphabet and Google.