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Here's What Key Metrics Tell Us About Alphabet (GOOGL) Q4 Earnings

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For the quarter ended December 2025, Alphabet (GOOGL - Free Report) reported revenue of $97.23 billion, up 19.1% over the same period last year. EPS came in at $2.82, compared to $2.15 in the year-ago quarter.

The reported revenue compares to the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $94.79 billion, representing a surprise of +2.58%. The company delivered an EPS surprise of +9.73%, with the consensus EPS estimate being $2.57.

While investors closely watch year-over-year changes in headline numbers -- revenue and earnings -- and how they compare to Wall Street expectations to determine their next course of action, some key metrics always provide a better insight into a company's underlying performance.

Since these metrics play a crucial role in driving the top- and bottom-line numbers, comparing them with the year-ago numbers and what analysts estimated about them helps investors better project a stock's price performance.

Here is how Alphabet performed in the just reported quarter in terms of the metrics most widely monitored and projected by Wall Street analysts:
  • Total TAC (traffic acquisition costs): $16.6 billion compared to the $16.18 billion average estimate based on 11 analysts.
  • Headcount (Number of employees): 190,820 versus 191,102 estimated by four analysts on average.
  • Revenues- United States: $55.44 billion compared to the $54.08 billion average estimate based on three analysts. The reported number represents a change of +17% year over year.
  • Revenues- Other Americas (Canada and Latin America): $6.87 billion compared to the $6.92 billion average estimate based on three analysts. The reported number represents a change of +19.8% year over year.
  • Revenues- APAC: $18.53 billion versus $17.85 billion estimated by three analysts on average. Compared to the year-ago quarter, this number represents a +22.2% change.
  • Revenues- EMEA: $33.06 billion versus the three-analyst average estimate of $32.4 billion. The reported number represents a year-over-year change of +17.3%.
  • Revenues- Google properties: $74.46 billion compared to the $72.98 billion average estimate based on 10 analysts. The reported number represents a change of +15.4% year over year.
  • Revenues- Google Cloud: $17.66 billion versus the nine-analyst average estimate of $16.25 billion. The reported number represents a year-over-year change of +47.8%.
  • Revenues- YouTube ads: $11.38 billion compared to the $11.82 billion average estimate based on nine analysts. The reported number represents a change of +8.7% year over year.
  • Revenues- Google advertising: $82.28 billion compared to the $80.97 billion average estimate based on nine analysts. The reported number represents a change of +13.6% year over year.
  • Revenues- Google Search & other: $63.07 billion versus $61.27 billion estimated by nine analysts on average. Compared to the year-ago quarter, this number represents a +16.7% change.
  • Revenues- Google Network: $7.83 billion compared to the $7.8 billion average estimate based on nine analysts. The reported number represents a change of -1.6% year over year.

View all Key Company Metrics for Alphabet here>>>

Shares of Alphabet have returned +8.1% over the past month versus the Zacks S&P 500 composite's +0.9% change. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), indicating that it could perform in line with the broader market in the near term.

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