Observed Signal · Feb 12, 2026 · Earnings Report · Source: AdExchanger · Impact: 4/5 · Sentiment: Neutral
Alphabet Soars Despite Google Search Traffic Decline
AdExchanger's Daily Roundup highlights must-read items: Alphabet's revenue trajectory is detailed with Google posting more than $113 billion in Q4 2025 and over $400 billion in the last year; People Inc. reports a 50% drop in Google search traffic but offsets it with off-platform growth, marking its strongest digital revenue gains in five quarters; The Big Story podcast covers AI's impact on publishers, including at the IAB Annual Leadership Meeting where IAB CEO David Cohen urged publishers to be paid by AI companies for using their content.
Significant earnings figures for Alphabet/Google; industry-impact discussion on AI-publisher payments at IAB meeting
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Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding
- Alphabet earned more than $113 billion in Q4 2025.
- Alphabet earned more than $400 billion in the past year.
- People Inc. reports a 50% decline in Google search traffic offset by off-platform growth and its highest digital revenue gains in five quarters.
- At the IAB Annual Leadership Meeting, IAB CEO David Cohen demanded publishers be paid by AI companies for using publishers' content.
Connected Companies & Entities
1 Entity mappedRelated Market Signals & Shifts
Recent verified developments and strategic activity across this market segment.
Alphabet Delivers Big Q2 Earnings, Shifts Focus From Ads
Alphabet reported a strong Q2 with total revenue of $119.8 billion and outsized profit driven in part by gains from its equities portfolio, while Google’s Network advertising business declined year-over-year. Google Cloud revenue surged to $24.8 billion (an 82% increase year-over-year) and YouTube ad revenue rose to $11.1 billion. The company increased its debt load from $16 billion to $100 billion and emphasized AI compute (TPUs) and AI products — with executives highlighting Gemini, AI Max and AI Mode — as strategic priorities. The EU upheld a €4.1 billion antitrust fine against Google, and some publishers are reportedly reconsidering allowing Google to scrape their sites.
Alphabet Q2: Google shifts from media to tech
Digiday’s Ad Tech Briefing analyzes Alphabet’s Q2 results and argues Google is evolving from a media-first company toward a broader technology and cloud business. Alphabet reported $120 billion in Q2 revenue (24% year‑over‑year), with advertising accounting for $81.63 billion (68% of revenues). Search remained the largest ad revenue source (about $63 billion), while Google Cloud grew strongly ($24.77 billion, ~82% growth). The briefing notes heavy AI and CAPEX investment, a short-term stock reaction, Google Network’s year‑on‑year decline, ongoing antitrust scrutiny, and competitive moves from Meta and Amazon around cloud and AI. The piece also summarizes third‑party research on identifier stability and links to related industry coverage and regulatory updates.
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