Alphabet Proves Why Its the Top Dog in Tech With Q3 Earnings

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) released third quarter earnings after markets closed Thursday. With this quarter, Alphabet continues to prove why it’s the top dog in tech. The company said that it had $9.57 in earnings per share (EPS) and $27.77 billion in revenue, compared with consensus estimates from Thomson Reuters that called for $8.33 in EPS on $27.2 billion in revenue. The same period from last year had $9.06 in EPS and $22.46 billion in revenue.

Total traffic acquisition costs (TAC) for the third quarter totaled $5.50 billion, a 31.6% increase from $4.18 billion last year. At the same time, total TAC as a percent of Google adverting revenues was 23%, a step up from 21% in the 2016 third quarter.

Aggregate paid clicks rose 47% from the same period last year, and rose 6% sequentially. The average cost per click fell 18% from last year, but was up 1% sequentially.

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On the books, Alphabet ended the quarter with $100.2 billion in cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities, up from $86.3 billion at the end of the previous fiscal year.

The company did not issue guidance for the coming quarter, but analysts are calling for $9.63 in EPS and $31.27 billion in revenue.

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Ruth Porat, CFO of Alphabet, commented:

We had a terrific quarter, with revenues up 24% year on year, reflecting strength across Google and Other Bets. Our momentum is a result of investments over many years in fantastic people, products and partnerships.

Shares of Alphabet closed Thursday at $972.56, with a consensus analyst price target of $1,053.50 and a 52-week range of $727.54 to $997.21. Following the release of the earnings report, the stock was up about 4% at $1,015.00 in the after-hours session.

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