What Happened
Murphy said he loved the “strong results” and that the markets reacted positively.Munster labeled Google and rival Apple Inc. as the “two bellwethers,” saying that the upside in search stood out to him. “It was 6 percent ahead of where the street was at. Overall revenues for Google was 4 percent better.”
According to Munster, search is Google’s most important segment.
The analyst said Google’s results were a “positive read on Facebook”—which is due to release its numbers on Thursday—as the two companies “tend to move in the same direction.”
Why It Matters
On Tuesday, Google parent Alphabet reported Q4 earnings per share of $30.69 beating the Street estimate of $27.48.Revenues in the period came in at $75.3 billion, a rise of 32 percent on a year-over-year basis. The revenue numbers beat a consensus estimate of $72.1 billion, according to Benzinga Pro.
The analyst noted a “declaration” in overall revenue from 40 percent last quarter to 32 percent in the fourth quarter but he said it was “better than expected.”
The search engine giant’s parent also announced a 20-for-1 stock split, which will come into effect on July 1.
“I think it’s a sign that advertisers are fully engaged in the economy and that was my biggest takeaway [from the results].”
Munster said Google was his third favorite in the FAANG list, with Apple and Facebook taking the top two spots. But he termed Apple and Google as the “gold standard.”
