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YouTube's Q1 2022 revenues plunge 20% from Q4 2021 figures

Elizabeth Kerr
Author 
Elizabeth Kerr
2 minutes
February 2nd, 2023
YouTube's Q1 2022 revenues plunge 20% from Q4 2021 figures

YouTube is arguably the king of video. Its over 2.6 billion monthly active users give it a huge revenue base when monetized, a fact that reflects in the platform’s earnings year on year (YOY). In 2021 YouTube made $28.8B accounting for 37% of Alphabet’s $76B earnings.

Therefore, its quarterly results are a major talking point, and in 2021 it steadily grew its quarterly earnings. But the streak seems to have come to a halt in 2022. MoneyTransfers’ analysis of its income shows that it posted gross revenues of $6.9B in Q1 2022. That was 20% less earnings compared to its Q4 2021 returns of $8.63B.

MoneyTransfers CEO Jonathan Merry had this to say about the data, “YouTube’s lean earnings are a result of the depressed growth in ad revenues. Again the platform’s overall growth has slackened and the suspension of its services in Russia where it serves over 100M users has impacted  its earnings.”

The drop wasn’t unexpected, though. The platform’s Q1 2022 earnings compared to 2021 was always under pressure. In 2021 it was coming off a depressed 2020 owing to the COVID-19 effects. But with the pandemic under control and normalcy, returning to such heights in 2022 was always going to be an uphill task.

How has YouTube’s loss impacted Alphabet’s revenues?

Following YouTube’s declining earnings, Alphabet recorded a drop in its quarter on quarter (QoQ) income. The firm fell short of its projected earnings of $68.1B, realizing $68B instead. Although it grew its revenue by 23%, that figure fell 14% short of its Q1 2021 figures.

The decline in YouTube’s earnings impacted Alphabet’s net profits too. Google’s parent company registered net profits of $16.44B. In contrast, it had earned $17.93B in Q1 of 2021. Thus it shed $1.5B or 8% in QoQ terms.

The Shorts effect

While YouTube struggled, its offshoot, Shorts, is thriving. Shorts is a 60-second TikTok alternative that’s ad-free. The platform had grown its viewership fourfold from a year ago. Currently, it has a viewership of over 30B a day.

Alphabet is looking to monetize Shorts and has 30B reasons to do so. Its daily views are 6 times that of YouTube. It, therefore, has the potential to eclipse YouTube’s revenues.

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Elizabeth Kerr
Elizabeth stands out as a financial content specialist with a keen focus on areas like cryptocurrency, data analysis, and financial regulation. Her expertise is further highlighted by her extensive publishing credentials, featuring contributions to a wide range of respected outlets.