Alphabet profit and revenue dropped in Q2, as earnings from its advertising business fell for the first time in the company’s history.

Net income plummeted from $9.94 billion in Q2 2019 to $6.95 billion and revenue decreased 2 per cent to $38.29 billion.

Advertising revenue, which comprises the majority of Alphabet’s overall income, fell 8 per cent to $29.86 billion. Earnings from its cloud unit proved a bright spot, jumping 43.2 per cent to $3 billion, while Other Revenues (which includes Play Store, hardware and non-advertising YouTube revenue) grew 25.6 per cent to $5.12 billion.

On an earnings call, CFO Ruth Porat said advertising revenue gradually improved throughout the quarter, noting income from its dominant Search channel was “essentially flat” year-on-year by the end of June.

However, she warned “it is premature to gauge the durability of recent trends given the obvious uncertainty of the global macro environment”.

Pixel
Separately, Google posted a teaser page online revealing a 3 August launch date for its next smartphone, widely believed to be the Pixel 4a.

Cryptic text on the page appeared to contain hints about improved camera and battery features, including better low-light capture capabilities.

Google’s last device launch, for the Pixel 4, was held in October 2019.