Paresh Dave & Nivedita Balu

(Reuters) – Google parent Alphabet (NASDAQ) Inc missed Wall Street estimates on Tuesday for its quarterly sales. It was the first time since the pandemic that Inc had fallen short. The reason? Advertisers reduced spending amid rising concerns of a global slowdown.

According to Refinitiv, the world’s biggest provider of video and search ads reported first quarter sales of $68.01 billion. This is 23% more than last year. However, it was below the $68.1 billion average estimate by financial analysts.

Quarterly profits were $16.436 trillion, which is $24.62 per Share, below expectations of $25.76.

After-hours trading saw Alphabet share prices fall 6.5%

Google’s latest economic crisis is showing signs of trouble. It is now bringing higher interest rates and transport costs, as well as a shortage of products, from infant formula to cars to couches.

According to Insider Intelligence, Google will be grabbing 29% of the $602billion global online advertising market, which is the largest share. This would make it at least the 12th consecutive year on top.

Alphabet shares fell by more than 17% on Tuesday but have increased nearly 90% in the last two years.

Alphabet repurchased shares worth more than $81 billion over the past two years. On Tuesday, it announced that its board has authorized $70 billion additional repurchases.