Here's what to pay attention to when Google reports Q1 results

Google's parent company Alphabet reports its Q1 earnings Thursday afternoon after the market closes.

The report comes as Alphabet's stock continues to break records, recently reaching all-time highs. The only company bigger than Alphabet by market cap? Apple.

Google, the core of Alphabet's business, has shown progress in the areas CEO Sundar Pichai has said he wants to focus on: YouTube, artificial intelligence, and consumer products.

Here's what you need to know ahead of Alphabet's earnings.

The numbers

Wall street consensus, according to Bloomberg is:

EPS, adjusted: $9.32

Revenue: $20.02 billion, which would be 21.6% year-over-year growth

YouTube

The big new thing at YouTube: YouTube TV.

YouTube TV launched in a few US cities a few weeks ago. The app itself is well-designed and video streams are reliable. But it's also missing a lot of content. There's a less-than-zero chance Google will disclose how many subscribers YouTube TV has so far, but expect to hear Pichai and team to brag about the successful launch.

AI and voice control

Google is trying to inject artificial intelligence into all of its products, from search to the smart home. It's also increasingly interested in voice control thanks to the Google Assistant that lives in the Google Home speaker and newer Android phones.

But Pichai has struggled to explain how the company can monetize voice searches with ads. The challenge was highlighted in March when Google Home started playing an ad for the new "Beauty and the Beast" movie. Google pulled the spot after the internet lit up with complaints.

Google Home recently got a significant update. It can now sync with multiple user accounts, using voice recognition to switch seamlessly between them.

Other bets

Alphabet's other companies like Nest, Waymo, and Verily are lumped into their own category called Other Bets. These companies make up just a tiny fraction of Google's revenues, but the hope is that one of them will grow into the next huge business after search.

In the year-ago quarter, Other Bets revenues were $166 million with an $802 million operating loss. Investors will be looking for revenue growth and slowing losses.

Google I/O

Google's annual developers conference is the company's biggest event of the year where it announces new features for Android and other new products. This year's I/O starts May 17 with a big keynote presentation. Expect Pichai to tease the event a bit during Thursday's earnings call.

Get the latest Google stock price here.