YouTube reveals colossal ad revenue

The video-sharing platform that has replaced TV for many young people brought in $15.15 billion in ad revenue last year. YouTube parent company Alphabet, which also owns Google, released the numbers for the first time on Tuesday, possibly to shore up investor confidence after earning slightly lower-than-expected revenue last quarter.

Is Alphabet flagging? Analysts are raising all kinds of worries about the future of the company, but in reality, it saw fourth-quarter revenue growth of 17 percent over a year ago and a profit increase of 19 percent in the same timeframe.

Dig deeper: The five biggest tech companies in the United States—Amazon, Apple, Alphabet, Microsoft, and Facebook—made a combined $55.2 billion in net profit in the last quarter of 2019. Read more in The New York Times about how they are wielding their power.