Alphabet has finally revealed the amount the company earns from its Google Business Units.
New revenue recognition laws first introduced in 2014 mean US companies are required to offer greater transparency on what brings in the cash, and what doesn’t. They came into effect in 2017.
YouTube ads, one of a number of items previously grouped together under Others, is revealed to have derived $15 billion in revenue in 2019 and represents around 10% of Google’s income. It’s an increase of 36% from 2018 and 86% on 2017. Google Search & Other is the largest item on the balance sheet at $98 billion.
The growth in YouTube’s ad business can be attributed to brand advertising, and the click-to-buy ads that run on product review videos.
“To provide further insight into our business and the opportunities ahead, we’re now disclosing our revenue on a more granular basis, including for Search, YouTube ads and Cloud,” CFO Ruth Porat explained in a statement released on Monday.
Alphabet also revealed that it now has 20 million subscribers to YouTube premium (and ad free) off and another 2 million subscribers to its paid-for TV service.
