YouTube Ad Revenue Rose 9%, but Alphabet Shares Fell 8%

YouTube brought in $11.2 billion from advertising in the third quarter of 2026, up 9%. Even so, shares in Alphabet, the parent company of Google and YouTube, fell 8% in after-hours trading, which is the period after the main stock market closes. Deadline reported the figures on 28 October 2026.

Alphabet's total revenue for the July to September quarter was $127.6 billion, up 25% on the same quarter a year earlier. That was slightly below the $127.8 billion analysts had forecast. Earnings per share, which is the profit made on each share of stock, came in at $2.12, against an analyst outlook of $3.01.

The quarter still extended a run. It was Alphabet's 13th straight quarter of double-digit revenue growth. In the earnings release, chief executive Sundar Pichai said the company is on track to record half a trillion dollars in total annual revenue. He also said the app for Gemini, Google's AI model, has reached 1 billion users. The results came shortly after the release of Gemini 4 Carbon, a new version of that model.

For people who watch television, the most telling figure may be YouTube's share of the living room screen. According to Nielsen, the audience measurement company, YouTube accounted for almost 16% of all viewing on US TV screens in September. That was nearly double Netflix's share over the same month.

YouTube's music and paid-membership service also grew. Alphabet said it now has more than 150 million YouTube Music and Premium subscribers worldwide. That total includes people on free trials. In March 2025 the figure stood at 125 million.

Growth in YouTube's ad revenue has slowed a little from the previous quarter. In the April to June period, ad revenue rose 13% to $11.1 billion, driven by direct response adverts, which ask viewers to act straight away, such as by buying something, as well as brand adverts that aim to build awareness of a product. In the July results, Alphabet had said both kinds of advert were behind that growth.

Alphabet shares had already slipped after the April to June results. Tesla and Alphabet were both lower on 23 July 2026, with Tesla down 14.5% and Alphabet down 7.1%. The latest drop came in after-hours trade, so the closing price on the main market had not yet reflected it.