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11 COMMERCIAL 3.2.2022 GOOGLE parent Alphabet last night reported record quarterly sales that topped expectations, as its internet ad- vertising business surged on consumers using Google search as they shopped online and advertisers upping their marketing budgets. Alphabet's shares jumped more than 8% in after-hours trading. Its shares were also boosted by the company's announcement that it would undertake a 20-to-one stock split. e results were the latest to reinforce that the global trend toward a more dig- ital economy has made Big Tech com- panies resistant to small-market shocks. Concerns about rising inflation, Cov- id-19 variants and supply-chain short- ages have rattled Wall Street and hurt sales at some businesses. But the companies that control key gateways to e-commerce, hybrid work and streaming entertainment have not seen a dip since the early days of the pandemic. Alphabet's sales jumped 32% to $75.3 billion in the fourth quarter, for a third quarterly sales record in a row and top- ping the average estimate of $72 billion among analysts. Consumers dove into Google search looking for clothing and hobbyist items, while retail, finance, entertainment and travel advertisers raised marketing budgets, chief business officer Philipp Schindler said. Analysts said Google, which generates more revenue from internet ads than any other company, is proving that its growth is unstoppable for the foresee- able future. Shares of Alphabet rose 8.6% in af- ter-hours trading, to $2,990.10, erasing their losses for the year-to-date. Shares of competitors in online ads including Facebook owner Meta Plat- forms, Twitter, Trade Desk and Snap all rose as well. Under the planned 20-for-one stock split, investors as of July 1 will receive 19 additional shares for each one held. e split, which is subject to share- holder approval, will make the stock more affordable and potentially eligible for inclusion in more market indexes. Shares of Apple and Tesla rallied in 2020 after splits, but increasingly bro- kerages such as Robinhood Markets allow purchases of fractional shares, diminishing some benefit of the tactic. For the 2021 full year, Alphabet said its sales rose 41% to a record $258 bil- lion. Sales had grown just 13% in 2020, the slowest rate in over a decade, after advertisers slashed spending in the first few weeks of the pandemic. Across both 2021 and 2020, Google's advertising business, including You- Tube, accounted for 81% of Alphabet's revenues. Companies including Amazon.com and ByteDance's TikTok have been tak- ing small pieces of Google's share of the global advertising market. But market forecasters do not expect major slippage in Google's leading po- sition. Google's secondary businesses, including Cloud, also have been lifting overall sales. Google Cloud, which serves clients such as online shopping software maker Shopify, increased quarterly revenue by 45% to $5.5 billion, above estimates of $5.4 billion. e division's operating loss narrowed by 45% to $3.1 billion in 2021. Alphabet chief executive Sundar Pichai told analysts that Cloud is ex- ploring how to support clients that want to use blockchain, one of several emerging technologies that proponents view as crucial to kickstarting a new era of online innovations. Alphabet also reported a quarterly sales record during the holiday season for its Google Pixel smartphones, de- spite what Pichai called "extremely chal- lenging" supply constraints. Alphabet's quarterly profit was $20.6 billion, or $30.69 per share, beating expectations of $27.56 per share and marking a fourth quarter of record prof- it in a row. e profit benefited from unrealised gains from Alphabet's investments in startups, and the company also got a $2 billion boost last year from extend- ing the useful life of its servers and net- working gear. For the 2021 year, Alphabet's profit in- creased 89% to $76 billion. Alphabet's total costs in 2021 in- creased 27% to $178.9 billion as the company began to resume its pre-pan- demic pace of hiring and construction. e company also noted increased le- gal fees, costs from a one-time bonus of $1,600 to all employees, and a rise in charitable contributions as it matched increased giving by employees. Numerous lawsuits accusing Google of anticompetitive conduct in the ad- vertising and mobile app store markets continue to be one of the company's biggest challenges. Google already has said its efforts to lower Play app store fees to assuage some of the concerns will hurt revenue. Alphabet's cash hoard grew by nearly $3 billion in 2021 to $139.6 billion, with another $50 billion going to buying back shares. e operating loss for Other Bets, a unit that includes self-driving tech- nology company Waymo and other non-Google ventures, was $5.3 billion in 2021, widening from $4.5 billion in 2020. e company offered no 2022 finan- cial outlook for the unit. Google propels record Alphabet revenue, driving shares up 8%

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