Google's moneymaking machine still pumping out massive profits despite multiple threats

Google is still thriving while nan institution navigates done a pivotal displacement to artificial intelligence and battles regulators trying to topple its net empire

SAN FRANCISCO -- Google is still thriving while nan institution navigates done a pivotal displacement to artificial intelligence and battles regulators trying to topple its net empire.

The latest grounds of Google’s prosperity emerged Tuesday pinch nan merchandise of its firm genitor Alphabet Inc.’s results for nan July-September period. Both Alphabet’s profit and gross accrued astatine a brisker gait than manufacture analysts anticipated, acknowledgment chiefly to a moneymaking instrumentality powered by Google’s ubiquitous hunt engine.

Alphabet earned $26.3 billion, aliases $2.12 per stock during nan astir caller quarter, a 34% summation from a twelvemonth ago. Revenue roseate 15% from nan aforesaid clip past twelvemonth to $88.27 billion.

The profits would person been moreover higher if Google wasn’t pouring truthful overmuch money into building up its AI arsenal successful a technological arms title that includes different manufacture heavyweights Microsoft, Amazon, Apple, Facebook genitor Meta Platforms and rising prima OpenAI. The AI investments are nan superior logic Google’s superior expenditures successful nan past 4th soared 62% from nan aforesaid clip past twelvemonth to $13.1 billion.

Investors seemed pleased pinch nan capacity arsenic Alphabet's banal value climbed astir 4% successful extended trading aft nan numbers came out.

But a 4-year-old antitrust lawsuit brought by nan U.S. Department of Justice has formed a unreality of uncertainty complete Google’s future.

After weighing nan grounds presented during a high-profile proceedings past year, a national judge declared Google’s hunt motor is an forbidden monopoly — a determination that has opened nan doorway for a awesome shake-up. Earlier this month, nan Justice Department suggested it might activity to break up Google arsenic portion of penalties that will beryllium wished by U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta adjacent summer.

Besides nan ineligible battle connected its hunt engine, Google besides has been ordered to tear down nan barriers protecting its Play Store for Android smartphone apps. That ruling came earlier this period after a assemblage decided that cognition besides was an forbidden monopoly. Google is besides nearing nan extremity of different antitrust proceedings successful Virginia revolving astir nan exertion underlying its integer advertisement network.

As if nan regulatory headaches aren’t enough, Google is besides successful nan midst of a awesome makeover of its hunt motor that is putting an expanding accent connected item results produced by artificial intelligence successful consequence to competitory threats to replacement options relying connected nan aforesaid perchance revolutionary technology.

For now, astatine least, Google remains a financial behemoth.

“The momentum crossed nan institution is extraordinary," Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai said successful a statement.