Smart device manufacturer Nest was acquired in 2014 by Google parent company Alphabet to compete with Amazon in the home automation sector. With the recent release of the company's 2017 financials, some experts say this has not yet paid off.
Nest posted a $621 million operating loss and $726 million in revenue in 2017; its losses accounted for 18.5 percent of Alphabet's "other bets segment," and 60 percent of its revenue, Quartz reports. About 40 percent of Nest's 2017 revenue came at the end of the year during the holiday shopping season. On an earnings call, Google's CEO Sundar Pichai said that Nest sold more devices during 2017 than in 2015 and 2016 combined.
The figures for Nest, which makes smart thermostats, security cameras, and other devices, were revealed for the first time because of a reorganization of Alphabet’s businesses in February. Alphabet is Google’s parent company. Alphabet rolled the internet-connected devices company into Google and merged it with Google’s hardware division, which makes products like smartphones, streaming media players, and the Google Home smart speaker. Industry watchers expected that move to help Google compete against Amazon, a smart-home market leader.
