Google Parent Alphabet Posts Q4 Loss, EPS Misses Street; Stock Down 5%

(RTTNews) - Alphabet Inc., (GOOG, GOOGL), the parent company of Google, Thursday posted a loss for the fourth quarter, hurt largely by a hefty one-time tax charge related to the recent changes made to tax laws.

Adjusted earnings for the quarter fell short of the estimates, while revenues trumped Wall Street expectations. Shares of the company fell about 5 percent in after-hours, following the news.

Alphabet reported fourth-quarter loss of $3.02 billion or $4.35 per share, compared to last year's profit of $5.33 billion or $7.56 per share.

The company said its fourth quarter was impacted by the recent reforms in the tax laws which resulted in additional tax expense of $9.9 billion in the quarter.

Adjusted earnings for the quarter rose to $9.70 per share from $9.36 per share last year. On average, 33 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters estimated earnings of $9.96 per share for the quarter.

Revenues for the quarter grew 24 percent to $32.32 billion from $26.06 billion last year. Analysts had a consensus revenue estimate of $31.85 billion for the quarter.

The company said aggregate paid clicks increased 43 percent year-over-year and 18 percent from last quarter. Paid clicks on Google websites jumped 48 from last year and 19 percent from previous quarter.

Meanwhile, aggregate cost-per-click dropped 14 percent from a year ago and 6 percent from prior quarter.

"Our business is driving great growth, with 2017 revenues of $110.9 billion, up 23% year on year, and fourth quarter revenues of $32.3 billion, up 24% year on year. Our full year operating income growth continues to underscore our core strength, and on top of this, we continue to make substantial investments for the long-term in exciting new businesses," said Ruth Porat, CFO of Alphabet.

Cost of revenues for the quarter increased to $14.27 billion from $10.66 billion a year ago.

Further, Alphabet's board authorized repurchase up to an additional $8.59 billion of its Class C capital stock. The company also appointed John Hennessy to serve as Chair of Alphabet's Board.

GOOG closed Thursday's trading at $1,167.70, down $2.24 or 0.19% on the Nasdaq. The stock further slipped $53.08 or 4.55% in the after-hours trading.