Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) delivered a blockbuster Q4, comfortably beating analyst expectations on both the top and bottom lines. Google Services remained the backbone of the company, with Search and YouTube combined for a 16% year-over-year increase, but Google Cloud was the clear standout. Cloud revenue surged 48% to $17.7 billion, driven by massive enterprise demand for AI infrastructure. More impressively, the segment’s operating margin expanded to a record 30%, more than doubling year-over-year and proving that the division has reached a high level of profitable scale.
The quarter also highlighted the rapid monetization of Alphabet’s AI investments. Management revealed that the Gemini App now reaches over 750 million monthly active users, while the Cloud backlog exploded 55% sequentially to $240 billion. While Search continues to see record usage through AI Overviews, the sheer scale of the 2026 capital expenditure guidance (forecasted between $175 billion and $185 billion) signals that the company is bracing for an even larger infrastructure ramp which has investors nervous.
For more details, key highlights, and commentary, check out the high-level earnings summary.
