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YouTube Generates $15 Billion a Year For Google

Alphabet released its fourth quarter results today and, for the first time, broke down how much money YouTube earns. According to the report, YouTube generated $15 billion in ad revenue last year, nea...
YouTube Generates $15 Billion a Year For Google
Written by Matt Milano
  • Alphabet released its fourth quarter results today and, for the first time, broke down how much money YouTube earns.

    According to the report, YouTube generated $15 billion in ad revenue last year, nearly doubling what it made just two years ago. As The Verge points out, that figure “contributed roughly 10 percent to all Google revenue. Those figures make YouTube’s ad business nearly one fifth the size of Facebook’s, and more than six times larger than all of Amazon-owned Twitch.”

    In addition to the ad revenue, The Verge reports that Google also has over 20 million subscribers to YouTube Premium and Music Premium, as well as more than 2 million YouTube TV subscribers. The revenue from these services is grouped under the “other” category, which accounted for $5.3 billion in Q4. The company also disclosed its Google Cloud earnings for the first time, with that division bringing in $8.9 billion in 2019.

    While Google beat Wall Street’s estimates on profit, its revenue came in lower than expected. That could be the reason the company was suddenly willing to disclose YouTube and Google Cloud’s financial contribution, in an effort to show the company is growing revenue streams outside its core search business.

    “In 2019 we again delivered strong revenue growth, with revenues of $162 billion, up 18% year over year and up 20% on a constant currency basis,” said Ruth Porat, Chief Financial Officer of Alphabet and Google. “To provide further insight into our business and the opportunities ahead, we’re now disclosing our revenue on a more granular basis, including for Search, YouTube ads and Cloud.”

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