Sundar Pichai Says Alphabet's Cloud Backlog Hit $514 Billion After 82% Revenue Growth Last Quarter. Is Google Cloud Becoming a Bigger Growth Driver Than Search?
Key Points
Cloud looks positioned to eventually become Alphabet's biggest long-term growth engine, but Search remains the main driver for now.
Google Cloud's backlog reached $514 billion in the second quarter of 2026 after revenue jumped 82%.
CEO Sundar Pichai says both consumer services and Cloud are still in the early innings of an AI shift.
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On July 22, 2026, during Alphabet's (NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL) earnings call, CEO Sundar Pichai said Google Cloud revenue grew 82% year over year in the second quarter, and its backlog hit $514 billion. Cloud appears on track to become Alphabet's biggest long-term growth driver -- but it isn't there yet. Search is still doing the heavy lifting, and it's still growing at a double-digit pace.
However, the cloud backlog is now larger than Alphabet's trailing 12-month revenue of $446 billion through June 30, 2026.
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Search is the main growth driver today, but that massive backlog signals where the business is headed over the next decade.
Alphabet's CEO Sundar Pichai. Image source: Alphabet.
Search still produces 55% of Alphabet's total revenue
Pichai opened the Q2 earnings call by saying, "Our momentum starts with Search." Users are engaging with Search through AI Overviews and AI Mode, and that's supporting advertising growth in the Search business.
Search and other advertising revenue grew 17% year over year in the second quarter of 2026, up from a 12% increase in the year-ago quarter.
On a trailing 12-month (TTM) basis, Search generated $243 billion in revenue, or 55% of the company's total. Meanwhile, Google Cloud revenue is growing much faster than Search, yet it's still small at 17% of Alphabet's TTM revenue.
Even with Cloud's operating margin reaching 35% last quarter, the segment's operating income still represents only 22% of Alphabet's total operating profit. Google Services, including Search advertising, will remain the company's core revenue and profit engine for at least a few more years.
Pichai says both Search and Cloud have substantial growth ahead
Investors shouldn't shrug off Google's search business just yet. Pichai mentioned there's still a meaningful opportunity to turn AI capabilities into better user experiences in its consumer services. The increasing user engagement and accelerating revenue growth in Search suggest that Alphabet's core business can still deliver more growth.
But it's clear from Google Cloud's growth and backlog that it will likely become the company's biggest driver of growth over the long term. Pichai noted that only a "very small percentage of overall workloads and enterprises have shifted to cloud," suggesting a long runway for Google Cloud as adoption continues. This is reflected in the backlog's growth trajectory, which surged 385% year over year in Q2.
If the $514 billion backlog keeps growing and converts into revenue at anything close to the 35% operating margin Cloud is delivering right now, the segment will contribute a significantly higher percentage of the company's profit, benefiting Google stock over the next 10 years.
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John Ballard has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
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