Shares of Google parent, Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) , increased 2.8% in after-hours trading on Oct 26, 2017, owing to impressive results. The company reported a 21.9% year-over-year increase in net quarterly revenues. It beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate on both earnings and revenues in the third quarter of 2017.
Q3 Performance
Alphabet reported non-GAAP earnings per share of $9.57, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $8.43 and increased from $9.06 in the year-ago period. Revenues of $22.270 billion (excluding total acquisition costs) surpassed the consensus estimate of $21.939 billion.
Operating income increased to $7.782 billion from $5.767 billion in the year-ago quarter. Net income increased to $6.732 billion from $5.061 billion in the year-ago quarter.
Revenue Performance
Properties revenues (including Traffic Acquisition costs) increased to $19.723 billion from $16.089 billion in the year-ago quarter.
Network members’ properties revenues (including Traffic Acquisition costs) increased to $4.342 billion from $3.732 billion in the year-ago quarter.
Advertising revenues (including Traffic Acquisition costs) increased to $24.065 billion from $19.821 billion in the year-ago quarter.
Other revenues (including Traffic Acquisition costs) increased to $3.405 billion from $2.433 billion in the year-ago quarter.
Segment revenues (including Traffic Acquisition costs) increased to $27.470 billion from $22.254 billion in the year-ago quarter.
Other Bets revenues (including Traffic Acquisition costs) increased to $302 million from $197 million in the year-ago quarter.
Total traffic acquisition costs increased to $5.502 billion from $4.182 billion in the year-ago quarter.
Aggregate paid clicks increased 47% on a year-over-year basis and 6% on a sequential basis, while aggregate cost-per-click declined 18% on a year-over-year basis and 1% on a sequential basis.
Shares of Alphabet Inc have increased 25.1% this year (as of Oct 26, 2017).
In the current scenario, we believe it is prudent to discuss the following ETFs that have a relatively high exposure to Alphabet (see all Technology ETFs here).
Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund XLK
XLK is a relatively cheaper bet on the technology sector. This fund has AUM of $18.5 billion and charges a fee of 14 basis points a year. It has 5.2% allocation to Alphabet Inc (Class A) (as of Oct 26, 2017). The fund has returned 28.1% in a year and 25.9% year to date (as of Oct 26, 2017). XLK has a Zacks ETF Rank of #2 (Buy) with a Medium risk outlook.
Vanguard Information Technology ETF (HN:VGT)
This fund is one of the most popular and cheap bets on the U.S. technology sector. It has AUM of $15.5 billion and charges a fee of 10 basis points a year. It has a 10.1% allocation to Alphabet Inc (Class A) (as of Sep 30, 2017). The fund has returned 31.7% in a year and 30.0% year to date (as of Oct 26, 2017). VGT has a Zacks ETF Rank of #2 with a Medium risk outlook.
iShares U.S. Technology ETF IYW
This fund provides exposure to the U.S. technology sector. It has AUM of $3.8 billion and charges a fee of 44 basis points a year. It has a 6.1% allocation to Alphabet Inc (Class A) (as of Oct 25, 2017). The fund has returned 36.5% in a year and 29.3% year to date (as of Oct 26, 2017). IYW has a Zacks ETF Rank of #1 (Strong Buy) with a Medium risk outlook.
Below is a chart comparing the year-to-date performance of the funds and Alphabet.
Source: Google Finance
To Conclude
The company has reported impressive results, despite a few headwinds relating to anti-trust fines. The company has strong fundamentals and the tech sector is expected to perform well owing to increased innovation and consumer confidence.
Republicans advanced on the tax reform plan promised by Trump. On Oct 19, the Senate passed a budget of $4 trillion in a 51-49 vote, which will allow the Republicans to move ahead with the tax cuts. The tax reform is expected to significantly boost earnings. This led to a rally in the stock markets as investors grew more optimistic about Trump delivering on his campaign promises (read: 5 Biggest ETF Winners of Trump Trade Resurgence).
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Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL): Free Stock Analysis Report
SPDR-TECH SELS (XLK): ETF Research Reports
VIPERS-INFO TEC (VGT): ETF Research Reports
ISHARS-US TECH (IYW): ETF Research Reports
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