Google Home Active Users Rose Fivefold in a Year, Said CEO on Q3 Webcast

The number of daily active users of Google Home devices grew more than five times in the past year, said Google CEO Sundar Pichai on Alphabet's Thursday earnings call. Google Assistant continues to gain traction, on the company’s strength in machine learning and search, YouTube and Google Maps, he said. Assistant has expanded to 20 languages and 76 countries, said Pichai, and it can understand and speak more than one language at a time. He cited launches of the first Google Home smart displays in the quarter from JBL and Lenovo. Revenue of Google parent Alphabet grew 21 percent in Q3 ended Sept. 30 to $33.7 billion, and net income rose to $9.2 billion from $6.7 billion in the year-ago quarter, it said. Revenue fell short of Wedbush Securities’ projected $34.29 billion, but analyst Michael Pachter maintained an outperform rating on the stock in a Friday investor note, saying the revenue shortfall suggests increasing competition. Google shares dipped 1.8 percent Friday, closing at $1,083.75.