All eyes on Alphabet's first-ever disclosure of Google Cloud profit
Alphabet will report the cost and operating profit of its Google Cloud business for the first time on Tuesday (Feb 2), disclosures that are expected to overshadow record overall quarterly sales for the internet's biggest platform for ads.
The transparency marks a milestone after years of aggressive investment and comes as the COVID-19 pandemic is pushing more work, shopping and entertainment online.
Alphabet will report the cost and operating profit of its Google Cloud business for the first time on Tuesday (Feb 2), disclosures that are expected to overshadow record overall quarterly sales for the internet's biggest platform for ads.
The transparency marks a milestone after years of aggressive investment and comes as the COVID-19 pandemic is pushing more work, shopping and entertainment online.
Google got serious about the cloud around 2016, five years after Amazon's unit had become a multibillion-dollar behemoth. But some analysts say Google may be ready to show that its heavy investment in staff and data centers to catch up in the industry is finally paying off.
Alphabet's costs have been an increasing concern for Wall Street as sales growth from the advertising business flattens out.
The company started disclosing Cloud and YouTube sales a year ago. Alphabet will provide a detailed annual breakdown for Cloud going back three years.
Wall Street analysts forecast fourth-quarter Cloud sales of US$3.82 billion for Google, with expectations for the unit to cross US$13 billion in annual sales, according to Refinitiv data.
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