Google (Nasdaq: GOOGL) shares opened 7% higher following its fourth-quarter earnings report in which the Internet giant exceeded analysts' expectations by an impressive amount. As a result of the report, Wall Street analysts hiked their forecast for upcoming quarters and raised the stock's price target.
The company also announced a 20-for-1 stock split which may lead to a more retail interest in the stock. The stock's results lifted many tech stocks such as Facebook (Nasdaq: FB) which opened 3% higher due to higher ad spending and is a positive signal for the economy. Overall, Google has been the biggest outperformer among the mega-cap technology stocks over the last year as the company is the one with the most exposure to the overall economy.
Inside the Numbers
In Q4, Google reported earnings per share of $30.69 which was nearly 10% better than analysts' consensus expectations of $27.34 per share. Revenue also beat by a significant margin at $75.3 billion vs $72.2 billion.
Not surprisingly, the biggest driver of this beat was advertising revenue, which saw a 33% increase to reach $61.2 billion from $46.2 billion in 2020's Q4. Overall in 2021, the company had 41% revenue growth and 89% earnings growth. While some tech companies have seen a sharp deceleration in growth as the economy normalizes, Google is a clear exception as its business remains in acceleration mode. YouTube also posted 25% revenue growth and reached new, all-time highs for many metrics.
Google Cloud also continued its impressive growth as it reached $5.5 billion in revenue and grew at a 45% rate. In terms of cloud deals worth over $1 billion, its cloud unit had 65% growth. Overall, Google Cloud is in third place and has about 9% market share. However, the company has found traction with companies in the healthcare and life sciences niche.
The stock split has added to chatter that Google could be the next stock added to the Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSE: DIA). The company also now has $140 billion in cash on its balance sheet which is raising hopes that some sort of share buyback could be announced.