5 Insightful Analyst Questions From Alphabet’s Q4 Earnings Call

Alphabet’s fourth quarter was marked by strong revenue growth, with management citing the rapid adoption of AI-powered products and significant momentum in Google Cloud and Search. CEO Sundar Pichai highlighted the launch of Gemini 3 and integration of advanced AI models across products as key factors. The company’s focus on developing its own AI infrastructure and expanding its portfolio of enterprise AI solutions contributed meaningfully to performance. Management also attributed the quarter’s results to increased engagement on consumer services and ongoing success in subscription offerings.

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• Revenue: $113.8 billion vs analyst estimates of $111.4 billion (2.2% beat)

• Operating Profit (GAAP): $35.93 billion vs analyst estimates of $36.93 billion (2.7% miss)

• EPS (GAAP): $2.82 vs analyst estimates of $2.64 (7% beat)

• Google Search Revenue: $63.07 billion vs analyst estimates of $61.31 billion (2.9% beat)

• Google Cloud Revenue: $17.66 billion vs analyst estimates of $16.29 billion (8.5% beat)

• YouTube Revenue: $11.38 billion vs analyst estimates of $11.83 billion (3.8% miss)

• Google Services Operating Profit: $40.13 billion vs analyst estimates of $38.17 billion (5.1% beat)

• Google Cloud Operating Profit: $5.31 billion vs analyst estimates of $3.74 billion (42.1% beat)

• Operating Margin: 31.6%, in line with the same quarter last year

• Market Capitalization: $3.85 trillion

While we enjoy listening to the management’s commentary, our favorite part of earnings calls are the analyst questions. Those are unscripted and can often highlight topics that management teams would rather avoid or topics where the answer is complicated. Here is what has caught our attention.

• Brian Nowak (Morgan Stanley) asked about progress on agentic commerce products and future milestones. CEO Sundar Pichai explained that 2025 focused on foundational protocol development, with 2026 expected to integrate these capabilities for end-users and advertisers.

• Eric Sheridan (Goldman Sachs) questioned the pathway to closing AI compute supply gaps and balancing efficiency. Pichai stated supply constraints would continue, while CFO Anat Ashkenazi described ongoing productivity initiatives using AI to optimize operations.

• Doug Anmuth (JPMorgan) inquired about Google’s ability to maintain Gemini’s leadership and the revenue potential for TPUs outside Google Cloud. Pichai emphasized relentless innovation and multimodal model improvements, with TPUs serving as a key differentiator within Google Cloud.

• Mark Mahaney (Evercore) asked about YouTube ad revenue softness and the impact of AI on software customers’ economics. Chief Business Officer Philip Schindler cited lapping of U.S. election spending and growth in subscriptions, while Pichai highlighted robust SaaS customer engagement with Gemini.

• Ken Gawrelski (Wells Fargo) asked about monetizing AI search activity and evolving partnership models. Schindler noted progress in monetizing new AI user experiences and partnerships such as the Apple collaboration, prioritizing value creation for both users and partners.