Google vs Sysco: Revenue, Profit and Business Model
Google reported $402.8B of revenue in FY2025 and $132.2B of net income. Sysco reported $84.6B of revenue in FY2026 and $1.8B of net income.
Latest financial snapshot
Financial summary
Alphabet's FY2025 Form 10-K reported $402.836 billion of revenue and $132.170 billion of net income, making it one of the most profitable companies in the world. Growth accelerated in 2026: Q2 2026 revenue rose 24% year over year to $119.8 billion, operating income rose 30% to $40.8 billion and operating margin reached 34.0%. Reported Q2 net income of $112.1 billion was inflated by a $99.0 billion gain, mostly unrealized gains on equity holdings, so operating income is the cleaner measure. The trade-off is spending: management raised 2026 capital expenditure guidance to $195-205 billion, and analysts flagged negative free cash flow in Q2 2026 as data-center investment outpaced operating cash flow.
Sysco
Sysco's revenue grew from $76.3 billion in fiscal 2023 to $78.8 billion in fiscal 2024, $81.4 billion in fiscal 2025 and $84.6 billion in fiscal 2026. Profit has not kept pace: fiscal 2026 net earnings declined 3.9% to about $1.76 billion and operating income edged up 0.2% to about $3.1 billion, partly reflecting higher incentive compensation costs. The fourth quarter was stronger, with sales up 4.7% to $22.1 billion, operating income up 10.6% to $983 million and adjusted EPS of $1.53. Full-year adjusted EPS was $4.61.
Revenue and profit by year
| Year | Revenue | Net income | Margin | Growth | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $402.8B | $132.2B | 32.8% | +15.1% | Source |
| FY2024 | $350B | $100.1B | 28.6% | +13.9% | Source |
| FY2023 | $307.4B | $73.8B | 24.0% | +8.7% | Source |
| FY2022 | $282.8B | $60B | 21.2% | +9.8% | Source |
| FY2021 | $257.6B | $76B | 29.5% | +41.2% | Source |
| FY2020 | $182.5B | $40.3B | 22.1% | +12.8% | Source |
| FY2019 | $161.9B | $34.3B | 21.2% | +18.3% | Source |
| FY2018 | $136.8B | $30.7B | 22.5% | +23.4% | Source |
| FY2017 | $110.9B | $12.7B | 11.4% | +22.8% | Source |
| FY2016 | $90.3B | $19.5B | 21.6% | — | Source |
Sysco
| Year | Revenue | Net income | Margin | Growth | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2026 | $84.6B | $1.8B | 2.1% | +3.9% | Source |
| FY2025 | $81.4B | $1.8B | 2.2% | +3.2% | Source |
| FY2024 | $78.8B | $2B | 2.5% | +3.3% | Source |
| FY2023 | $76.3B | $1.8B | 2.3% | +11.2% | Source |
| FY2022 | $68.6B | $1.4B | 2.0% | +33.8% | Source |
| FY2021 | $51.3B | $524.2M | 1.0% | -3.0% | Source |
| FY2020 | $52.9B | $215.5M | 0.4% | -12.0% | Source |
| FY2019 | $60.1B | $1.7B | 2.8% | +2.4% | Source |
| FY2018 | $58.7B | $1.4B | 2.4% | +6.1% | Source |
| FY2017 | $55.4B | $1.1B | 2.1% | — | Source |
Where the revenue comes from
- Google Search advertising~12%
Auction-based text and shopping ads served alongside organic search results, generating approximately $198 billion in FY2024 through cost-per-click and cost-per-impression pricing.
- YouTube advertising~12%
Video advertising across pre-roll, mid-roll, display, and Shorts formats, plus subscription revenue from YouTube Premium, Music, and YouTube TV, totaling approximately $36 billion in ad revenue for FY2024.
- Google Cloud~12%
Infrastructure-as-a-service, platform tools, Vertex AI, BigQuery, Mandiant cybersecurity, and Google Workspace subscriptions, generating significant FY2025 revenue.
- Google Network~12%
Ads placed on third-party websites through AdSense, AdMob, and Google Ad Manager, generating approximately $31 billion in FY2024 with revenue shared with publishers.
- Other Bets~12%
Revenue from Waymo autonomous ride-hailing, Verily health technology, hardware sales (Pixel, Nest, Fitbit), Google Play commissions, and other non-advertising sources.
Sysco
- Foodservice Distribution
Not formally reported
Sysco earns the spread between what it pays suppliers and what it charges restaurants, healthcare, education, hospitality and government accounts, on $84.6 billion of fiscal 2026 revenue.
- Sysco Brand Private Label
Not formally reported
Private-label penetration is one of the main drivers of profit on thin margins; operating margin was about 3.7% in fiscal 2026.
- Specialty Categories
Not formally reported
Specialty categories such as produce and protein.
- SYGMA National Chains
Not formally reported
Large national chains are served through SYGMA, at lower margins than local independent customers.
Business model and strategy
How it makes money
Alphabet makes money mainly by selling ads against user intent and attention. Google Search & other, YouTube ads and the Google Network together account for roughly three quarters of revenue. Advertisers bid in real-time auctions to appear next to queries or videos, and Google charges per click, view or conversion.
Growth strategy
Alphabet's growth plan has four parts: put Gemini into Search (AI Overviews and AI Mode), Workspace, Android and Chrome to keep users and advertisers engaged; sell AI infrastructure, TPUs and Gemini models through Google Cloud, backed by the Wiz security platform acquired in March 2026; grow subscriptions such as YouTube Premium, YouTube TV and Google One AI plans;
Competitive advantage
Alphabet's edge is a stack few rivals own end to end: default distribution through Android and Chrome, the largest pool of search-intent data, YouTube's video audience, its own TPU chips and global data centers, and frontier models from Google DeepMind.
Sysco
How it makes money
Sysco makes money on the spread between what it pays suppliers and what it charges foodservice customers, plus delivery and service economics. It buys food and non-food products in bulk, stores them in temperature-controlled distribution centers, and delivers mixed orders to restaurants, healthcare, education, hospitality and government accounts.
Growth strategy
Sysco is growing through local case growth, specialty category expansion, digital ordering, operational productivity, private-label penetration, national-account wins, international markets, and selective acquisitions. The Jetro deal would add 166 warehouse stores, about 725,000 independent restaurant and foodservice customers, and approximately $16 billion of 2025 revenue.
Competitive advantage
Sysco's moat is route density. The more customers it serves in a geography, the more efficiently it can fill trucks, spread warehouse costs, negotiate with suppliers, and offer reliable delivery. Its digital ordering tools, private brands, specialty products, national accounts, and procurement scale reinforce that density.
Questions about Google vs Sysco
Which company has higher revenue — Alphabet Inc. or Sysco Corporation?
Alphabet Inc. reported $402.8B (FY2025), while Sysco Corporation reported $84.6B (FY2026). By last reported revenue, Alphabet Inc. is the larger business, with Sysco Corporation reporting a smaller revenue base. Note: these are from different fiscal years and are not a direct like-for-like comparison.
What is the market cap of Alphabet Inc. vs Sysco Corporation?
Alphabet Inc.'s market capitalisation stands at $4.31T, while Sysco Corporation's is $38.5B. Alphabet Inc. carries the higher market valuation, reflecting investors' expectations of its future earnings power relative to Sysco Corporation.
Which is more financially efficient — Alphabet Inc. or Sysco Corporation?
Alphabet Inc. generates $2.11M / employee in revenue per employee, while Sysco Corporation generates $1.13M / employee. Alphabet Inc. shows higher revenue efficiency per headcount, though this reflects business model differences — capital-light software companies routinely outperform labour-intensive manufacturers on this metric.
How do Alphabet Inc. and Sysco Corporation make money?
Alphabet Inc. and Sysco Corporation generate revenue in fundamentally different ways. Alphabet Inc.: Alphabet makes money mainly by selling ads against user intent and attention. Sysco Corporation: Sysco makes money on the spread between what it pays suppliers and what it charges foodservice customers, plus delivery and service economics.
Which company is valued higher relative to revenue — Alphabet Inc. or Sysco Corporation?
On a price-to-sales (P/S) basis, Alphabet Inc. trades at 10.7x P/S and Sysco Corporation at 0.5x P/S. Alphabet Inc. commands a higher revenue multiple, typically indicating that investors expect faster growth or higher future margins compared to Sysco Corporation. A higher multiple is not inherently better — it may also signal that the stock is priced for perfection.
Is Alphabet Inc. bigger than Sysco Corporation?
By last reported revenue, Alphabet Inc. ($402.8B (FY2025)) is the larger company compared to Sysco Corporation ($84.6B (FY2026)). Revenue scale is one dimension of size — market capitalisation, employee count, and geographic reach are also relevant depending on the context.
Figures come from each company's filings and the sources linked beside them. Amounts reported in another currency are shown in US dollars at an approximate rate and marked with ~. Back to the Google vs Sysco overview