Google is huge, and as you'd expect, pulls in money from a lot of different sources. The company just shared its latest financial report that showcases numbers for its performance in Q4 and all of 2017, and there's a mixture of growth and loss.
Looking at Google's total revenue in 2017, the company generated $110.9 billion – an increase of 23% compared to its total earnings in 2016. As for Q4 alone, revenues of $32.3 billion allowed for a year-over-year increase of 24% compared to Q4 2016. Also, of that $32.3 billion in quarterly revenue, a whopping $27.27 billion came from ad revenue. But due to a one-time $9.9 billion (yes, billion) tax charge on foreign earnings resulting from the recent tax bill in the U.S., the company actually lost just over $3 billion in the quarter.
Google hardware sales and Play Store revenue are way up year-over-year.
Google's hardware sales – such as the Pixel 2 and 2 XL, Home Mini, etc. – are grouped under a category called "Other Revenues." Along with hardware, this also includes sales from the Play Store and Google's enterprise ventures. Google reported revenue of $4.69 billion, which was up 38% compared to a year earlier. Google didn't share the number of phones it sold, but Google in its earnings call, CEO Sundar Pichai said device shipments more than doubled year-over-year. It also sold "tens of millions" of Chromecasts, Chromebooks, and Google Home speakers.
On the hardware front, 2018 should be an interesting year for Google. With the company's purchase of HTC's top hardware talent now completed, expectations are high for the Pixel 3 and whatever other gadgets we end up getting.
Elsewhere in the earnings announcement, Alphabet announced that John L. Hennessy will be the new Chair of the Board at Alphabet, replacing Eric Schmidt, who announced his change of role at the end of December 2017. The Board also announced that Alphabet will be buying back over $8.5 billion in Class C stock, effectively increasing the value of remaining shares for those who hold them.
