Google parent Alphabet earns $96 bn in Q2 on AI boom, YouTube ad revenue nears $10 bn

Alphabet reported stronger-than-expected second-quarter results on Wednesday, with overall revenue rising 14 per cent year-on-year and cloud revenue touching $13.62 billion, reflecting robust growth across its core businesses.

YouTube was another major driver, with ad revenue surging 13 per cent to $9.8 billion, beating market expectations and highlighting the platform’s continued momentum. Notably, TV has now become YouTube’s biggest viewing platform, further chipping away at traditional broadcast audiences.

The upbeat earnings sent Alphabet’s stock up by as much as 3 per cent in after-hours trading.

Meanwhile, the company announced a major boost in capital spending, increasing its 2025 investment target from $75 billion to $85 billion, as it intensifies focus on artificial intelligence and cloud infrastructure. CFO Anat Ashkenazi also signaled plans for further spending hikes in 2026.

In the cloud segment, Alphabet’s revenue jumped 32 per cent from a year ago, driven by rising demand. A recent partnership with OpenAI, which will now run ChatGPT on Google Cloud, further strengthens Alphabet’s position in the AI infrastructure space. CEO Sundar Pichai called the collaboration “very exciting,” underscoring its strategic importance.

Net income for the quarter rose nearly 20 per cent to $28.2 billion, while the company’s search and advertising units continued to perform strongly despite growing AI competition. The search business brought in $54.2 billion, and total advertising revenue rose 10.4 per cent to $71.3 billion, up from $64.6 billion last year.

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These results reflect Alphabet’s broad-based strength as it scales its investments in future growth engines like AI, YouTube, and cloud computing, all while maintaining dominance in core segments.