Strong demand from advertisers powered yet another better-than-expected quarter for Google parent Alphabet Inc.GOOGL 0.51 % .
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We’d argue against the former, as Google has already proven it can make its “moon shots” work over the long run, like its full bet on mobile with the creation of the Android platform, which was the highlight of this past quarter. He added, “They’re doing an excellent job of pulling the mobile landscape through to being more efficient”.
Alphabet said it earned $4.8 billion, or $7 a share, in the quarter, compared with $3.9 billion, or $6.43 a share, in the year-ago period.
GOOGLE parent Alphabet saw it stock surge in late trading yesterday after it reporting second quarter figures ahead of expectations.
Robust gains in the red-hot video market also drove the company’s growth, Google Chief Executive Officer Sundar Pichai said during a call with investors.
The group’s foray into the video market put it in direct competition with social media giants Facebook and Twitter.
Advertiser interest in YouTube is picking up, Mr. Pichai said, including for its premium video ad offering called Preferred. “It’s a thriving home for creators”.
Advertising revenue for Alphabet increased 19% to $19.14bn for the quarter, with companies keen to enhance their image via its search engine, and particularly, through Youtube.
The R&D costs increased 21 percent to Dollars 3.36 billion, and Google raised investment speding to USD 2.12 billon. Further, he pointed out that “substantial strength” in mobile search is driven by improvement in ad formats, and noted that Google continues to innovate by rolling out products like expanded mobile text ads.
The “other bets” line item showed US$185 million in revenue and an operating loss of US$859 million. The Other Bets business lost $859m, bringing down the overall profit figure for Alphabet.
‘We continue to invest responsibly in support of our many compelling opportunities’.
In the long-term, some analysts question how the company will generate ad revenue from new artificial intelligence-enabled voice interfaces and chatbots via upcoming products like Allo and Google Home.
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“It’s a big set of changes, and it’s obviously having an impact”, he said. The increase in revenue comes as Google’s advertising value is declining while advertising volume is on the rise.
