Google saw double-digit revenue growth in Q3

Despite recent drama in Washington, DC, Google continued to print money last quarter.

The company reported almost $77 billion in revenue during Q3 thanks to a digital advertising market that’s starting to pick up. That’s up 11% year over year, marking its first double-digit increase in a year.

Google executives credited growth to the company’s search and YouTube advertising business, which rebounded after a “period of historic volatility,” CFO Ruth Porat said during an earnings call. YouTube made nearly $8 billion during the quarter, a 12.5% increase compared to the same time last year.

The company reported nearly $60 billion in total advertising revenue in Q3, up from $54 billion in Q3 last year. Still, its stock dropped on missed revenue expectations in its cloud business.

Earlier this year, the company invested in a slew of AI tools for users and advertisers, like generative search. During its earnings call, Google CEO Sundar Pichai said the company will “experiment with new formats” for advertisers interested in generative search, but didn’t elaborate.

Google’s chief business officer, Philipp Schindler, confirmed that yes, seriously, Google Chrome is on track to begin phasing out third-party cookies in the second half of 2024, something it has delayed in the past.

“We’re overall encouraged by the ecosystem engagement on Privacy Sandbox. We’ll continue to work with industry and regulators [on] how these technologies can support the transition to, frankly, a more private web,” he said.

Anxious investors will have to wait until Q4 to get a more comprehensive look at the company’s bet on NFL Sunday Ticket, which YouTube TV has the rights to for the first time this season, Porat said. We wonder how many new subscribers are rooting for the Kansas City Chiefs.