YouTube has posted its second-highest quarterly earnings, with revenue reaching $8.92 billion in the third quarter of 2024. The platform’s success stems largely from its music streaming service and improved AI-powered video recommendations.
The latest figures show a 12.1% increase compared to the same period last year, helping YouTube’s combined advertising and subscription income exceed $50 billion across the past four quarters – a first for the company. According to Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, these results highlight the rising popularity of YouTube’s expanding entertainment offerings. As reported by Digital Music News, Google’s subscription services, including YouTube Music, saw even stronger growth of 27.7%, reaching $10.66 billion.
AI technology has played a crucial role in this growth. Alphabet’s Chief Business Officer Philipp Schindler explained that their Gemini language models have enhanced content recommendations by better understanding videos and viewer preferences.
YouTube Music has seen significant expansion, reaching 100 million subscribers in March 2024, adding 20 million users since 2022. The platform also reported a 25% increase in Content ID claims, with rights holders increasingly choosing to monetise rather than remove content.
The strong performance contributed to Alphabet’s overall revenue growth of 15%, reaching $88.3 billion. The company’s stock responded positively, closing at $171.14 per share – up 22.6% for the year.
