• Alphabet, previously Google, reported healthy Q4 2015 earnings that topped analyst estimates.
  • Google’s core ad business saw a resurgence in growth aided by the company’s change in ad format.
  • Alphabet’s non-core projects continue to be a drain on the company’s profitability though Google’s capex spending on these businesses has slowed down considerably.
  • Alphabet stock appears well primed for long-term gains.
  • Alphabet Stock A Good Long Term Bet Post Q4 Earnings

    Alphabet Inc-C (Nasdaq:GOOG), previously known as Google, surged more than 8% in after market trading after the company delivered a healthy earnings beat in its debut earnings call on . Alphabet reported Q4 2015 revenue of $21.33B, up 17.8%Y/Y and $560M higher than the Wall Street consensus estimate. Alphabet’s EPS of $8.67 was up 56.7% Y/Y and topped estimates by $0.58, partly aided by a lower tax rate.

    This quarterly earnings call marked the first time that Google broke out its segment performance to allow investors to catch a glimpse of how its so-called moonshot projects are fairing. Google’s segment performance as follows:

    Core Google-this includes Display Ads, Google Search, Maps, Google Play and YouTube. The segment revenue for Q4 2015 was up 18% to $21.8B. Full year revenue for the segment clocked in at $74.5B, up 13%Y/Y with operating income of $23.4B, up 23%Y/Y. Google Site revenue for the fourth quarter was up 20% Y/Y to $14.9B while revenue from Google’s partner sites climbed 7%Y/Y to $4.1B. Other revenue (hardware sales, Google Play, enterprise) was up 24% to $2.1B. Paid clicks, a closely watched metric, was up a healthy 17% Q/Q and 31%Y/Y partly buoyed by seasonality and partly by strong trends for YouTube, mobile search, and Google Shopping. Paid clicks by Google sites were up a robust 40%Y/Y while Google Network clicks grew only 2%Y/Y after being hurt by Google’s ongoing quality control efforts and competition. Google’s cost per click, another closely watched metric, fell 5% Q/Q and 13%Y/Y.

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