Editorial illustration for Alphabet posts USD 400 B revenue, YouTube tops streaming, 325 M paid subs
Alphabet Hits $96B Revenue, AI Drives Q4 Growth
Alphabet posts USD 400 B revenue, YouTube tops streaming, 325 M paid subs
Alphabet just crossed the $400 billion revenue mark, a threshold the company has never hit before. The milestone arrived alongside a surge in its subscription business, now tallying more than 325 million paying members across Google One and YouTube Premium. While the earnings sheet shows growth across the board, investors are especially keen on how the video platform stacks up against traditional broadcasters.
Nielsen data, presented at the recent shareholder briefing, puts YouTube at the top of the streaming ranks—a claim that carries weight in a market where ad dollars are increasingly flowing online. Meanwhile, the firm’s AI‑driven Gemini model is also on the agenda, hinting at a broader push beyond ad‑centric revenue. All of these threads converge in a single, telling statement from the CEO, who framed YouTube’s position and the subscriber count as evidence of the company’s expanding ecosystem.
**Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai told investors that YouTube remains the "number one streamer," citing data from Nielsen. The company also now has more than 325 million paid subscribers, led by Google One and YouTube Premium. In addition to surging revenue and subscribers, Google reported that its Gemini**
Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai told investors that YouTube remains the "number one streamer," citing data from Nielsen. The company also now has more than 325 million paid subscribers, led by Google One and YouTube Premium. In addition to surging revenue and subscribers, Google reported that its Gemini AI app surpassed 750 million users following the launch of its Gemini 3 model in November, marking a 100 million increase. Gemini 3 continues to dominate the AI industry, with a custom version of the AI model set to power a more personalized version of Apple's Siri.
Alphabet crossed the $400 billion revenue mark this year, a first for the company. A 15 percent year‑over‑year rise, driven largely by cloud services and YouTube, underpins the milestone. YouTube alone generated over $60 billion from ads and subscriptions, reinforcing its claim as the “number one streamer” according to Nielsen data cited by CEO Sundar Pichai.
More than 325 million users now pay for Google One or YouTube Premium, a figure that eclipses previous subscriber counts. Yet the report offers little context on how much of the growth stems from new users versus higher spend per existing user. The brief mention of Gemini suggests additional developments, but details are absent, leaving analysts uncertain about its impact on future earnings.
While the numbers paint a picture of continued expansion, questions linger about the sustainability of such growth amid intensifying competition in cloud and streaming markets. It's unclear whether the current trajectory can be maintained without further innovation, and that remains to be seen. Can this pace hold?
Further Reading
- Alphabet reports Q4 2025 revenue of $113.8 billion - 9to5Google
- Alphabet earnings, Q4 2025: CEO's remarks - The Keyword (Google Blog)
- Papers with Code - Latest NLP Research - Papers with Code
- Hugging Face Daily Papers - Hugging Face
- ArXiv CS.CL (Computation and Language) - ArXiv
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Common Questions Answered
How much ad revenue did YouTube generate in Q4 2024?
YouTube reached a record $10.5 billion in ad revenue during the fourth quarter of 2024. This milestone was largely driven by increased political campaign spending for the 2024 U.S. presidential election, with both parties nearly doubling their advertising expenditures compared to the 2020 elections.
What impact did DeepSeek have on Alphabet's AI strategy in Q4 2024?
DeepSeek created significant disruption in the U.S. tech market, challenging existing AI solutions. Despite the challenges, Google CEO Sundar Pichai remained confident in the company's differentiated approach, praising DeepSeek's team while emphasizing Google Gemini's strengths and planning to invest approximately $75 billion in capital expenditures for 2025.
What key growth areas did Alphabet highlight in its Q4 2024 earnings report?
Alphabet reported strong performance in multiple areas, including YouTube's record ad revenue, growth in TV screen watch time, and AI initiatives. The company saw YouTube accounting for more than 10% of all watch time on TV screens, and highlighted the potential competitive advantages of initiatives like the CAA partnership to protect creators from deepfakes.