Google parent Alphabet lifted by better-than-expected earnings

[WASHINGTON] Google parent Alphabet shares lifted on Monday on a stronger-than-expected earnings report for the past quarter, as the tech giant's results eased concerns over huge fines imposed by the European Union for antitrust actions.

Profit dipped 9.3 per cent to US$3.2 billion in the second quarter after accounting for the EU fines, the company said.

Revenues meanwhile jumped 26 per cent from a year ago to US$32.7 billion, better than most analysts expected.

Shares in Alphabet jumped 4.5 per cent in after-hours trade, which could mark a new record for the internet giant if confirmed when markets open Tuesday.

"We delivered another quarter of very strong performance," chief financial officer Ruth Porat said.

"Our investments are driving great experiences for users, strong results for advertisers and new business opportunities for Google and Alphabet."

Last week, EU officials slapped a 4.34-billion-euro (S$6.82 billion) penalty on the US tech giant for illegally abusing the dominance of its operating system for mobile devices.

Brussels accused Google of using the Android system's near-stranglehold on smartphones and tablets to promote the use of its own Google search engine and shut out rivals.

Following a reorganization of the company, the Google unit that includes the main search engine and YouTube video service still delivered the lion's share of revenues at US$32.5 billion, with "other bets" driving $145 million in revenue.

Within Google, advertising remained the key revenue source, pulling in US$28 billion in the three months ending in June, a 24 percent rise from a year ago.

AFP