Google Search & OtherWide moat

Alphabet (Google) (GOOGL) — moat facet

A twenty-five-year-old auction still adds more revenue in one year than YouTube's ad business added in four, and paid clicks, not headlines about AI, will say when that stops.

Google Search & other is the line that pays for Alphabet. It brought in $224,532 million in 2025, about 56% of the company's revenue1, and it grew by $26.4 billion in a single year2. That single year's increase was more than twice what YouTube's advertising revenue added across the four years from 2021, which went from $28,845 million to $40,367 million3. Nothing else in the company is close in size, and nothing else is as profitable.

Google Search & other revenue ($B)$69.8B2017$85.3B2018$98.1B2019$104.1B2020$149.0B2021$162.5B2022$175.0B2023$198.1B2024$224.5B2025About 15.7% a year compounded. Alphabet Forms 10-K FY2019, FY2021, FY2023, FY2025
The line more than tripled in eight years and had no down year, with 2020 the only pause; it added $26.4B in 2025 alone.

The name is a filing convention rather than a product. The line covers ads on Google's own results pages, ads on search traffic that partners send to Google.com as their default in browsers and devices, and ads on other Google-owned properties such as Gmail, Google Maps and Google Play4. It began as a way to sell the space beside the results without slowing the results down. Google launched AdWords as a self-service program in October 2000, and within weeks of its beta debut "approximately 350 businesses and advertising agencies" had signed up5. The choices made then still define the business: an advertiser bids for the words a person types, the ad appears beside the answer rather than instead of it, and the price comes out of an auction rather than a rate card. A quarter of a century later the auction runs across billions of queries, but the unit of sale is unchanged.

The money arrives mostly per click. Alphabet tracks the line with two numbers, and in 2025 both moved up: paid clicks rose 6% and cost-per-click rose 7%6. That is the healthiest pattern an auction can show, since more people clicked and each click was worth more to the bidders. The filing puts the query growth down to more usage on mobile devices, growth in advertiser spending and improvements Google has made in ad formats and delivery. The cost side of the line is dominated by distribution. Google pays browser providers, phone makers, carriers and software developers to route searches its way, and those traffic acquisition costs, together with payments to Network partners, came to $59.9 billion across all advertising in 20257. The largest single payment, about $20 billion a year to Apple for the iPhone default, is the subject of the search antitrust case8.

Alphabet does not publish a margin for Search alone. The nearest figure is Google Services, which earned $139,404 million on $342,721 million of revenue in 20259, about 41%10. Search almost certainly runs above that average, because the rest of the segment carries costs of a different order: YouTube's payments to content providers, the hardware in the devices business and the share of every Network sale that goes to the publisher. Search pays its distribution partners too, but against a far larger revenue base. That is an inference Alphabet has never confirmed, and it is consistent with the segment margin rising from about 35% in 2023 to about 41% in 202511 while the company spent more on AI.

The growth record is long and remarkably even. Search & other was $69,811 million in 201712, and the climb to 2025 works out at about 15.7% a year, compounded13. The weakest year was 2020, when the pandemic froze advertising budgets and growth fell to about 6%, taking the line to $104,062 million; it jumped 43% to $148,951 million in 2021 as spending came back14. Growth then slowed to 9% in 2022 and 8% in 2023 before settling at 13% in each of the last two years15. The newest quarters are faster still. Search & other grew 19% in the first quarter of 202616 and 17% in the second, to $63,271 million17, after a long stretch in which investors worried in public that chatbots would hollow it out.

That worry is the whole outlook, and it has its own page under the threats, AI Answers Replacing Search. The short version is that Google now answers many queries itself, with AI Overviews reaching about two billion monthly users18, and every answer that satisfies a question is a result page where fewer ads get clicked. So far the auction has absorbed the change, because the questions that matter to advertisers still end in a comparison or a purchase. The legal overhang is also smaller than it was. The remedies ruling of September 2025 prohibited exclusive search distribution deals but did not ban payments for default placement, and refused to force a sale of Chrome19; the final judgment of December 5, 2025 set those remedies for six years, including data sharing with rivals, and Google has appealed20.

The thing to watch is paid clicks. Cost-per-click can rise for many reasons, from a richer mix of commercial queries to a weaker dollar, and it can hide a shrinking audience for a while. A year in which paid clicks fall while AI answers spread would be the first direct evidence that fewer searches end in an ad, and it would matter more than any growth rate in the headline.

Moat trajectory: Holding steady

Growth has quickened for three years, to 19% and 17% in the first two quarters of 2026, and both paid clicks and cost-per-click rose in 2025. Against that, AI answers now appear on a large share of queries and the search remedies run for six years, so the position is holding rather than widening.

The number that tests this moat
Reported
Paid clicks and cost-per-click, 2025
+6% and +7%

Both dials of the search auction rose together: more people clicked, and each click was worth more. A year in which paid clicks fall while AI answers spread would be the first direct evidence that fewer searches end in an ad.

Source: Alphabet Form 10-K, FY2025 (monetization metrics) ↗
References
  1. ReportedIt brought in $224,532 million in 2025, about 56% of the company's revenue, and it grew by $26.4 billion in a single year.
    Alphabet Form 10-K, FY2025 — Note 2, revenues by type: Google Search & other $175,033m / $198,084m / $224,532m; YouTube ads $31,510m / $36,147m / $40,367m; Google Network $31,312m / $30,359m / $29,792m; Google subscriptions, platforms, and devices $34,688m / $40,340m / $48,030m; Google Cloud $33,088m / $43,229m / $58,705m; Other Bets $1,527m / $1,648m / $1,537m; total revenues $307,394m / $350,018m / $402,836m (2023 / 2024 / 2025) — FY2023–FY2025 · publ. February 5, 2026 · source ↗
  2. ReportedIt brought in $224,532 million in 2025, about 56% of the company's revenue, and it grew by $26.4 billion in a single year.
    Alphabet Form 10-K, FY2025 — Item 7 MD&A, revenue discussion: Search & other +$26.4 billion; YouTube ads +$4.2 billion, driven by direct response then brand advertising; Google Network −$567 million on lower AdSense, partly offset by AdMob; paid clicks +6%, cost-per-click +7%, Network impressions −7%, cost-per-impression +7%; subscriptions, platforms, and devices +$7.7 billion on paid subscriptions across YouTube services and Google One; Google Cloud +$15.5 billion on Google Cloud Platform infrastructure and platform services; Other Bets operating loss +$3.1 billion on a valuation-based compensation charge related to Waymo; cost of revenues up on TAC, content acquisition costs and depreciation — FY2025 against FY2024 · publ. February 5, 2026 · source ↗
  3. Moat Explorer calcThat single year's increase was more than twice what YouTube's advertising revenue added across the four years from 2021, which went from $28,845 million to $40,367 million.
    Moat Explorer calculation from Alphabet's filed revenue and segment figures (Forms 10-K FY2019, FY2021, FY2022, FY2023, FY2025; Q1 and Q2 2026 releases) — growth rates, shares of revenue, compound annual growth, segment operating margins and loss-per-revenue-dollar ratios — FY2017–Q2 2026 · publ. Computed September 2026 · source ↗
  4. ReportedThe line covers ads on Google's own results pages, ads on search traffic that partners send to Google.com as their default in browsers and devices, and ads on other Google-owned properties such as Gmail, Google Maps and Google Play.
    Alphabet Form 10-K, FY2025 — Item 7, how each revenue type is generated (Search & other incl. distribution-partner traffic, Gmail, Maps and Play; Network = AdMob, AdSense and Google Ad Manager; subscriptions = YouTube TV, Music and Premium, NFL Sunday Ticket, Google One; platforms = Google Play; devices = Pixel; Cloud = GCP consumption fees and subscriptions, Workspace; Other Bets = autonomous transportation and internet services), TAC paid to distribution and Google Network partners, content acquisition costs primarily related to YouTube, and Note 15's description of Other Bets — FY2025 · publ. February 5, 2026 · source ↗
  5. ReportedGoogle launched AdWords as a self-service program in October 2000, and within weeks of its beta debut "approximately 350 businesses and advertising agencies" had signed up.
    Google press release, 'Google Launches Self-Service Advertising Program' (October 23, 2000) — AdWords adopted by approximately 350 businesses and advertising agencies since its beta debut earlier that month — October 2000 · publ. October 23, 2000 · source ↗
  6. ReportedAlphabet tracks the line with two numbers, and in 2025 both moved up: paid clicks rose 6% and cost-per-click rose 7%.
    Alphabet Form 10-K, FY2025 — Item 7 MD&A, revenue discussion: Search & other +$26.4 billion; YouTube ads +$4.2 billion, driven by direct response then brand advertising; Google Network −$567 million on lower AdSense, partly offset by AdMob; paid clicks +6%, cost-per-click +7%, Network impressions −7%, cost-per-impression +7%; subscriptions, platforms, and devices +$7.7 billion on paid subscriptions across YouTube services and Google One; Google Cloud +$15.5 billion on Google Cloud Platform infrastructure and platform services; Other Bets operating loss +$3.1 billion on a valuation-based compensation charge related to Waymo; cost of revenues up on TAC, content acquisition costs and depreciation — FY2025 against FY2024 · publ. February 5, 2026 · source ↗
  7. ReportedGoogle pays browser providers, phone makers, carriers and software developers to route searches its way, and those traffic acquisition costs, together with payments to Network partners, came to $59.9 billion across all advertising in 2025.
    Alphabet Form 10-K, FY2025 — cost of revenues table: TAC $54,900 million (2024) and $59,926 million (2025), TAC rate down from 20.7% to 20.3%; cash flow statement: purchases of property and equipment $32,251m (2023), $52,535m (2024) and $91,447m (2025); Google Network revenues $30,359m (2024) and $29,792m (2025) — FY2025 (year ended December 31, 2025) · publ. February 5, 2026 · source ↗
  8. ReportedThe largest single payment, about $20 billion a year to Apple for the iPhone default, is the subject of the search antitrust case.
    United States v. Google LLC (D.D.C., Judge Mehta) — DOJ case page: Aug 2024 liability ruling (default-search payments, about $20B a year largely to Apple, found to be unlawful monopoly maintenance); final judgment and memorandum opinion Dec 5, 2025; the United States' response and opening brief on cross-appeal, July 28, 2026 — Liability ruling Aug 2024; final judgment Dec 5, 2025; appeals 2026 · publ. 2024–2026 · source ↗
  9. ReportedThe nearest figure is Google Services, which earned $139,404 million on $342,721 million of revenue in 2025, about 41%.
    Alphabet Form 10-K, FY2025 — segment note and MD&A: operating income Google Services $95,858m / $121,263m / $139,404m on revenue of $272,543m / $304,930m / $342,721m; Google Cloud $1,716m / $6,112m / $13,910m, with employee compensation $19,054m / $20,519m / $22,078m and other costs $12,318m / $16,598m / $22,717m; Other Bets $(4,095)m / $(4,444)m / $(7,515)m; Alphabet-level activities $(9,186)m / $(10,541)m / $(16,760)m, primarily shared AI research and development (2023 / 2024 / 2025) — FY2023–FY2025 · publ. February 5, 2026 · source ↗
  10. Moat Explorer calcThe nearest figure is Google Services, which earned $139,404 million on $342,721 million of revenue in 2025, about 41%.
    Moat Explorer calculation from Alphabet's filed revenue and segment figures (Forms 10-K FY2019, FY2021, FY2022, FY2023, FY2025; Q1 and Q2 2026 releases) — growth rates, shares of revenue, compound annual growth, segment operating margins and loss-per-revenue-dollar ratios — FY2017–Q2 2026 · publ. Computed September 2026 · source ↗
  11. Moat Explorer calcThat is an inference Alphabet has never confirmed, and it is consistent with the segment margin rising from about 35% in 2023 to about 41% in 2025 while the company spent more on AI.
    Moat Explorer calculation from Alphabet's filed revenue and segment figures (Forms 10-K FY2019, FY2021, FY2022, FY2023, FY2025; Q1 and Q2 2026 releases) — growth rates, shares of revenue, compound annual growth, segment operating margins and loss-per-revenue-dollar ratios — FY2017–Q2 2026 · publ. Computed September 2026 · source ↗
  12. ReportedSearch & other was $69,811 million in 2017, and the climb to 2025 works out at about 15.7% a year, compounded.
    Alphabet Form 10-K, FY2019 — revenues by type for 2017, 2018 and 2019: Search & other $69,811m / $85,296m / $98,115m; YouTube ads $8,150m / $11,155m / $15,149m; Google Network Members' properties $17,616m / $20,010m / $21,547m; Google Cloud $4,056m / $5,838m / $8,918m; Google other $10,914m / $14,063m / $17,014m; Other Bets $477m / $595m / $659m; total $110,855m / $136,819m / $161,857m — FY2017–FY2019 · publ. February 4, 2020 · source ↗
  13. Moat Explorer calcSearch & other was $69,811 million in 2017, and the climb to 2025 works out at about 15.7% a year, compounded.
    Moat Explorer calculation from Alphabet's filed revenue and segment figures (Forms 10-K FY2019, FY2021, FY2022, FY2023, FY2025; Q1 and Q2 2026 releases) — growth rates, shares of revenue, compound annual growth, segment operating margins and loss-per-revenue-dollar ratios — FY2017–Q2 2026 · publ. Computed September 2026 · source ↗
  14. ReportedThe weakest year was 2020, when the pandemic froze advertising budgets and growth fell to about 6%, taking the line to $104,062 million; it jumped 43% to $148,951 million in 2021 as spending came back.
    Alphabet Form 10-K, FY2021 — revenues by type for 2020 and 2021 (Search & other $104,062m / $148,951m; YouTube ads $19,772m / $28,845m; Google Network $23,090m / $31,701m; Google other $21,711m / $28,032m; Google Cloud $13,059m / $19,206m; Other Bets $657m / $753m) and segment operating income as then reported (Google Cloud $(5,607)m / $(3,099)m; Other Bets $(4,476)m / $(5,281)m) — FY2020–FY2021 · publ. February 2, 2022 · source ↗
  15. Moat Explorer calcGrowth then slowed to 9% in 2022 and 8% in 2023 before settling at 13% in each of the last two years.
    Moat Explorer calculation from Alphabet's filed revenue and segment figures (Forms 10-K FY2019, FY2021, FY2022, FY2023, FY2025; Q1 and Q2 2026 releases) — growth rates, shares of revenue, compound annual growth, segment operating margins and loss-per-revenue-dollar ratios — FY2017–Q2 2026 · publ. Computed September 2026 · source ↗
  16. ReportedSearch & other grew 19% in the first quarter of 2026 and 17% in the second, to $63,271 million, after a long stretch in which investors worried in public that chatbots would hollow it out.
    Alphabet Q1 2026 earnings release — quarter ended March 31, 2026 against 2025: Search & other $60,399m vs $50,702m; YouTube ads $9,883m vs $8,927m; Google Network $6,971m vs $7,256m; subscriptions, platforms, and devices $12,384m vs $10,379m; Google Cloud $20,028m vs $12,260m with operating income $6,598m vs $2,177m; Other Bets revenue $411m vs $450m and operating loss $(2,100)m vs $(1,226)m — Q1 2026 · publ. April 2026 · source ↗
  17. ReportedSearch & other grew 19% in the first quarter of 2026 and 17% in the second, to $63,271 million, after a long stretch in which investors worried in public that chatbots would hollow it out.
    Alphabet Q2 2026 earnings release — quarter ended June 30, 2026 against 2025: Search & other $63,271m vs $54,190m; YouTube ads $11,055m vs $9,796m; Google Network $7,303m vs $7,354m; subscriptions, platforms, and devices $12,911m vs $11,203m; Google Cloud $24,768m vs $13,624m (+82%) with operating income $8,814m vs $2,826m; Google Services operating income $39,544m on $94,540m; Other Bets revenue $382m vs $373m and operating loss $(1,799)m vs $(1,246)m — Q2 2026 · publ. July 22, 2026 · source ↗
  18. ReportedThe short version is that Google now answers many queries itself, with AI Overviews reaching about two billion monthly users, and every answer that satisfies a question is a result page where fewer ads get clicked.
    Google AI Overviews reach — ~2 billion monthly users across 200+ countries (company-stated, 2025-26) — 2025-2026 · publ. 2025-2026 · source ↗
  19. ReportedThe remedies ruling of September 2025 prohibited exclusive search distribution deals but did not ban payments for default placement, and refused to force a sale of Chrome; the final judgment of December 5, 2025 set those remedies for six years, including data sharing with rivals, and Google has appealed.
    Hughes Hubbard, 'Court Issues Remedies Ruling in United States v. Google Search Case' (Sept 3, 2025) — Judge Mehta's 230-page remedies ruling: no forced divestiture of Chrome or Android ('the complete divestiture of Chrome is a poor fit for this case'); payments for default placement not banned but exclusive search distribution deals prohibited; search index and user-interaction data (not ads data) to be shared with qualified competitors at marginal cost — Remedies ruling of September 2, 2025 · publ. September 3, 2025 · source ↗
  20. ReportedThe remedies ruling of September 2025 prohibited exclusive search distribution deals but did not ban payments for default placement, and refused to force a sale of Chrome; the final judgment of December 5, 2025 set those remedies for six years, including data sharing with rivals, and Google has appealed.
    PPC Land, 'Google files appeal challenging six-year search remedies' — Judge Mehta entered final judgment on December 5, 2025, imposing six-year behavioural remedies (data sharing, syndication, Technical Committee oversight); Google filed its notice of appeal on January 16, 2026 — December 2025 - January 2026 · publ. January 2026 · source ↗
Sources
Generated September 16, 2026