Google’s advertising revenue was up 33% at $61.24bn, although traffic acquisition costs came in above expectations at $13.43bn, while turnover at its Other segment, which includes hardware and the Play Store, was up to $8.16bn from $6.67bn.
YouTube ad revenue was the one line which fell short of forecasts, rising to $8.63bn from $6.89bn, although CFO Ruth Porat said that partly reflected strong comparables in the year-ago quarter.
Cloud revenue was 45% higher at $5.54bn, and CEO Sundar Pichai said: “Our deep investment in AI technologies continues to drive extraordinary and helpful experiences for people and businesses, across our most important products.”
Google’s growth is largely put down to its success in generating revenue through digital advertising.
Speaking to Reuters, Sophie Lund-Yates, equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “The pandemic has handily accelerated the world’s reliance on digital advertising.”
She added: “Sitting through traditional TV advert breaks or reading billboards suddenly feels completely archaic in the age of streaming and mobile phone addiction.”
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