Mobile and Youtube boost Google parent Alphabet profits

Google parent company Alphabet has beaten expectations, reporting a 20.2% rise in quarterly revenue helped by sales of advertising on mobile devices and YouTube.

Revenue in the third quarter rose to $22.5bn (£18.5bn), from $18.7bn a year earlier.

Net income for the quarter was $5bn, up from $4bn a year ago.

Alphabet, along with Facebook, dominates the fast-growing mobile advertising market.

Google's total ad revenue rose 18.1% to $19.82bn in the third quarter, accounting for more of its revenues.

"We had a great third quarter," Alphabet chief financial officer Ruth Porat said in the earnings release.

"Mobile search and video are powering our core advertising business and we're excited about the progress of newer businesses in Google and Other Bets."

Google underwent a restructuring drive late last year and created Alphabet as a new parent company, making Google's internet operations one division next to other units. Autonomous cars and internet service balloons were grouped together in an Other Bets or "Moonshots" category.



'New ear of computing'

Google chief executive Sundar Pichai was bullish about taking on rivals Apple, Samsung and Amazon in a new push into hardware and artificial intelligence.

Google earlier this month launched a premium-priced, in-house designed smartphones and a slew of other devices showcasing artificial intelligence prowess.

Products such as the Google Home smart speaker or the Google assistant are both aimed at voice search, which could replace keyboards or touch screens as the way we interact with computer devices.

"We feel well positioned as we transition to a new era of computing," Mr Pichai said in a conference call.

"This new era is one in which people will experience computing more naturally and seamlessly in the context of their lives, powered by intelligent assistants and the cloud."

Shares in Alphabet, the world's second biggest company by market value, were up 1.6% in after-hours trading.


Source:
BBC