Why did Alphabet shares fall almost 10% on Wednesday? Lots of ad and revenue woes
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Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) shares were cut down by almost 10% Wednesday as Wall Street wasted little time showing what it thought of the Internet giant's third-quarter results and general business performance. 
The decline came about after the Google parent on Tuesday reported a third-quarter profit of $1.06 a share, on $69.1B in revenue. Analysts had forecast Alphabet (GOOG) to earn $1.26 a share on sales of $71B. During the year-ago period, Alphabet (GOOG) earned $1.40 a share on $65.1B in revenue.
Ad revenue was cited as a major factor impacting Alphabet's results, as YouTube ad sales declined by 2%, to $7.07B, and missed analysts' forecasts of $7.1B. Total advertising revenue rose by 2.5% from a year ago, to $54.5B, but fell short of expectations for $56.6B in sales.
J.P. Morgan analyst Doug Anmuth said Alphabet (GOOG) is proving to be a victim of issues impacting much of an Internet industry that is highly dependent on advertising revenue.
Anmuth said Alphabet (GOOG), "significantly over-earned in 2021, a function of a rapidly recovering online ad market through the pandemic with lagging headcount increases. Now, the inverse is taking place, with revenue growth decelerating rapidly."
Meanwhile, Facebook parent Meta Platforms (META) added to the Internet sector's woes when on Wednesday it gave a third-quarter report that missed earnings estimates, and warned that its revenue is likely to be challenged next year.