---
title: "Google's 52x AI Growth"
description: "Google's Gemini processes 10B tokens/minute, up 52x YoY, while cutting serving costs 78%. Cloud revenue hit $17.7B, growing 48%."
categories: ["Earnings","Google","AI","cloud"]
keywords: ["Google earnings Q4 2025","Gemini API tokens","Google Cloud revenue","AI infrastructure spending","hyperscaler CapEx"]
date: 2026-02-05
lastmod: 2026-07-21
canonical_url: https://www.tomtunguz.com/google-earnings-q4-2025/
author: "Tomasz Tunguz"
---


Google's Q4 2025 earnings call revealed a company in the midst of a spectacular AI acceleration.

> "Our first-party models like Gemini now process over 10 billion tokens per minute via direct API used by our customers, up from 7 billion last quarter."

{{< email_image src="jepeoddrfwavvdqdequb" alt="Google Token Volume 52x" width="540" height="304" >}}

This represents a staggering 52x increase year-over-year, up from ~8.3 trillion tokens/month in December 2024 to an annualized run rate of over 430 trillion.

For context on the scale :

> "Nearly 350 customers each process more than 100 billion tokens."

Microsoft reported over 250 customers projected to process more than 1 trillion tokens annually - a 10x higher threshold, suggesting their largest customers are consuming significantly more tokens per account.

While volume is exploding, costs are plummeting. Google announced :

> "We were able to lower Gemini serving unit costs by 78%."

This means a 4.5x improvement in tokens per GPU hour.

Compare this to Microsoft's update last year, where they highlighted a [90% increase](https://tomtunguz.com/msft-gcp-earnings-2025-10-30/) in tokens per GPU. Google's 4.5x (or 350%) improvement suggests they are finding massive efficiencies in their TPU infrastructure and model architecture.

The AI boom is translating directly to revenue :

> "Backlog grew 55% to $240 billion."

This compares to Microsoft's RPO of $625 billion, 45% of which comes from OpenAI.

Gemini Enterprise has sold more than 8 million paid seats just four months after launch. Google Cloud revenue grew 48% to $17.7 billion, outpacing Azure's 39% growth.

{{< email_image src="iqrgyb3tsh0zym0qngjk" alt="Google Cloud Revenue History" width="540" height="304" >}}

To fuel this growth, Google is committing capital at an unprecedented scale.

> "Our 2026 CapEx investments are anticipated to be in the range of $175 to $180 billion."

If Google alone is spending ~$175B, the hyperscalers collectively (Google, Microsoft, Amazon, & Meta) could drive $500B to $750B in data center CapEx this year. This level of investment signals their conviction that the demand for tokens is only just beginning.

Currently, [AI infrastructure spending is ~1.6% of GDP](https://tomtunguz.com/llm-impact-gdp/), compared to the peak of the railroad era at 6.0%. At this rate, AI data center buildouts would be equivalent to the national highway system as an investment percentage of GDP.

Google's AI business is growing at 48% while reducing serving costs by about 80%. The efficiency of the business is unparalleled.