Google's cloud business was a bright spot in an otherwise mixed quarter for Alphabet[1], as ad revenues across Search and YouTube took a nosedive at the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. For Q1 2020, Google Cloud brought in $2.77 billion, up from $1.825 billion a year prior and $2.614 billion the previous quarter.
While Advertising continues to generate the most revenue for Google, the number is down significantly compared to last quarter. In Q1, Google ad revenues came to $33.76 billion, compared to $37.934 billion in Q4.
The same goes for Google Search and other ad revenue (excluding YouTube), which brought in $24.502 billion in Q1, down from $27.185 billion in Q4. Revenue for YouTube ads was down to $4.038 billion from $4.717 billion last quarter.
"Performance was strong during the first two months of the quarter, but then in March we experienced a significant slowdown in ad revenues," said Ruth Porat, Chief Financial Officer of Alphabet and Google. "We are sharpening our focus on executing more efficiently, while continuing to invest in our long-term opportunities."
As for Alphabet's overall Q1 results, diluted earnings per share came to $9.87 on revenue of $41.2 billion, up 13% year-over-year. On average, Wall Street was looking for Q1 earnings of $10.38 per share with $40.33 billion in revenue.
In Alphabet's moonshot "Other bets" category, revenue was down to $135 million while the operating loss climbed to $1.1 billion.