What happened: In its latest earnings, Google parent Alphabet reported a slowdown in revenue and profit growth as it grappled with its second back-to-back drop in ad sales. What the numbers say: It's only the third time the company's ad sales have fallen YoY since its 2004 IPO. The rare drop in Google's main moneymaker comes after it saw ad revenue fall 3.6% in the prior quarter. YouTube slowdown: Broken down further, Google's YouTube saw its third straight drop in ad sales in Q1. The video-sharing platform's revenue fell to $6.7B, down 3% from the prior year. YouTube ad sales saw huge growth starting in early 2020 before slowing down in 2021, according to Reuters data. On a positive note: Alphabet's decline in ad sales was still not as bad as analysts had expected. Its overall revenue and profit beat Wall Street's muted expectations, while the company's announcement for a $70B stock buyback plan helped to push up its shares in pre-market trading. |
