Alphabet hits a record high after earnings top expectations

Markets Insider

Shares of Google’s parent company Alphabet jumped more than 5% in after-hours trading Monday, hitting a new record high, following the company’s second-quarter earnings report that topped Wall Street’s expectations.

Here are the important numbers:

• Adjusted Earnings: $11.75 per share compared to an expected $11.68. 
• Revenue ex-TAC: $26.24 billion (excluding traffic acquisition costs) compared to an expected $25.55 billion.

TAC, an important metric in Google’s ad business, crept up to 23% of ad revenue in Q2, up slightly from the 22% reported during the same period last year.

“We delivered another quarter of very strong performance,” Ruth Porat, Alphabet’s chief financial officer, said in a press release. “Our investments are driving great experiences for users, strong results for advertisers, and new business opportunities for Google and Alphabet.”

Last week, the European Union hit the search giant with a record-breaking $5 billion fine. The EU accused the company of abusing its dominant Android mobile-operating system to cement the popularity of Google apps and services. The penalty is equal to about 40% of Google’s $12.62 billion profit in 2017.

Net income came in at $3.2 billion, down from $3.5 billion in the same quarter of 2017, largely due to the European fine. 

Still, analysts say the penalty won’t have a material impact on Alphabet, but is largely “a pro-Amazon ruling.”