In her inaugural earnings call as Alphabet's chief financial officer, Israeli-American Anat Ashkenazi reported robust third-quarter results while outlining a strategic vision balancing AI investments with fiscal discipline. The tech giant posted a 15% year-over-year revenue increase to $76.5 billion under her first quarterly review.
Ashkenazi's journey to leading finance at one of the world's largest tech companies reflects a notable trajectory through Israel's academic and banking sectors. After earning her bachelor's degree in accounting and economics from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and an MBA from Tel Aviv University, she began her career at Bank Hapoalim, one of Israel's largest financial institutions, before joining Eli Lilly in 2001.
"As I look at the business, I see opportunities for further growth propelled by AI and the underlying momentum across the business," Ashkenazi told investors during Thursday's earnings call for Alphabet, the parent company of Google. "While we have a strong balance sheet to support these investments, we will be looking for efficiencies so that we can fund innovation in priority areas." Her debut quarter demonstrated impressive performance across key metrics, with operating income jumping 34% to $28.5 billion and earnings per share increasing 37% to $2.12. The transition from her predecessor Ruth Porat appears seamless, with Ashkenazi already implementing her vision for the company's financial future.
Drawing on financial expertise developed across multiple continents, Ashkenazi detailed significant infrastructure investments, with capital expenditure reaching $13 billion during the quarter. The company announced over $7 billion in planned data center investments, with nearly $6 billion allocated to US facilities. The cloud division showed particularly strong results under her first quarter, with revenue surging 35% to $11.4 billion and operating margins reaching 17%. YouTube achieved a milestone during her initial quarter, with combined advertising and subscription revenue surpassing $50 billion over the past four quarters.
Google's new CFO, Anat Ashkenazi, is cutting costs & boosting AI spending ??. She's looking to squeeze more savings out of the company while investing in AI innovation. What's next for Google's AI plans? ? #AI #Googlehttps://t.co/seWvxscNVq
— AI News Bulletin (@ai_bulletin_top) October 29, 2024
Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai highlighted the other aspects of the report while providing a more refined outlook. "Q3 was another great quarter. The momentum across the company is extraordinary," said Pichai. "Our commitment to innovation as well as a long-term focus and investment in AI are paying off."
Looking ahead, Ashkenazi indicated that advertising revenue growth in Q4 will face tough comparisons due to strong performance in the second half of 2023, summing up the overall gains made in the reporting period. "In Q3, we also returned value to shareholders in the form of $15.3 billion in share repurchases and $2.5 billion in dividend payments. Overall, we returned a total of nearly $70 billion over the trailing 12 months to shareholders. As we look forward, we're working to balance our investments in AI and other growth areas with the cost discipline needed to fund those activities," Ashkenazi noted.
