Google Strategy Teardown: Betting The Future On AI, Cloud Services, And (Tamed) Moonshots

Before we dive into the data behind Alphabet's forward-looking strategy, we must quickly assess its most mature and most profitable (by far) business line: Google search and advertising. As a reminder, Google now consists of search, mapping, cloud & enterprise, Google-branded consumer hardware and operating systems (Chrome, Android, etc.), and YouTube. All other units, from investment vehicles (GV, Google Capital) to the X arm, are now subsidiaries reporting directly to Alphabet management. We will use the Google moniker when discussing either the company proper or historical pre-Alphabet activities under its banner. The company outperformed analyst expectations in Q2'16 with surging top- and bottom-line growth.