Google Cloud Is Growing…But So Are Its Losses
Google released income numbers for its cloud division for the first time, and the results are a mixed bag.
Google reported $13.1 billion in revenue for 2020, an increase from $8.9 billion in 2019. Losses increased as well, however, hitting $5.6 billion. In contrast, losses in 2019 were $4.6 billion and $4.3 billion in 2018.
While Google Cloud lost billions, it’s worth pointing out that its revenue growth outpaced its losses.
“Our strong results this quarter reflect the helpfulness of our products and services to people and businesses, as well as the accelerating transition to online services and the cloud,” said CEO Sundar Pichai. “Google succeeds when we help our customers and partners succeed, and we see significant opportunities to forge meaningful partnerships as businesses increasingly look to a digital future.”
“Our strong fourth quarter performance, with revenues of $56.9 billion, was driven by Search and YouTube, as consumer and business activity recovered from earlier in the year,” said Ruth Porat, CFO of Google and Alphabet. “Google Cloud revenues were $13.1 billion for 2020, with significant ongoing momentum, and we remain focused on delivering value across the growth opportunities we see.”