Shares of Google parent Alphabet soared to all-time highs Monday evening, after the company posted a surge in ad revenue that partially made up for a record-breaking $5 billion fine from the EU.
MarketWatch tech reporter Max Cherney said that even recent backlash over ad placement on the site won't ultimately deter customers.
"Google has to make sure their advertising clients are happy with the placement of their ads," he told Cheddar after the results. "Even though Google has struggled with the issue, and YouTube specifically...at the end of the day Google offers very valuable advertising real estate and most, if not all, of their customers end up going back."
Advertising revenue for the quarter rose nearly 25 percent to $28.1 billion in the second quarter. That increase came despite a [CNN report in April](https://money.cnn.com/2018/04/19/technology/youtube-ads-extreme-content-investigation/index.html) that found ads for 300 companies, from Adidas to Hershey to Netflix, appeared next to questionable YouTube content. The company had been plagued by similar scandals throughout last year.
Still, research firm eMarketer estimates Google will control 31 percent of the digital ad market this year.
On the company's conference call, CFO Ruth Porat said, "One of the biggest opportunities for investment continues to be our ads business, where we're continuing to invest meaningfully."
While the EU fine, announced last week as a penalty for abusing the market dominance of its Android operating system, did eat into profit, on an adjusted basis the company posted earnings of $11.75 a share, ahead of analyst estimates for $9.59.
Another good signーAlphabet also saw slowing growth in its so-called traffic acquisition costs, or how much the company pays to drive views to its sites.
Overall revenue came in at $32.7 billion for the quarter. Sales from its "Other Bets", which include Google's cloud business and hardware division, rose nearly 50 percent to $145 million.
For full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/alphabet-hits-all-time-high-after-reporting-q2-earnings).
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Spain's government has fined Airbnb 64 million euros or $75 million for advertising unlicensed tourist rentals. The consumer rights ministry announced the fine on Monday. The ministry stated that many listings lacked proper license numbers or included incorrect information. The move is part of Spain's ongoing efforts to regulate short-term rental companies amid a housing affordability crisis especially in popular urban areas. The ministry ordered Airbnb in May to remove around 65,000 listings for similar violations. The government's consumer rights minister emphasized the impact on families struggling with housing. Airbnb said it plans to challenge the fine in court.
Roomba maker iRobot has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, but says that it doesn’t expect any disruptions to devices as the more than 30-year-old company is taken private under a restructuring process. iRobot said that it is being acquired by Picea through a court-supervised process. Picea is the company's primary contract manufacturer. The Bedford, Massachusetts-based anticipates completing the prepackaged chapter 11 process by February.
Serbia’s prosecutor for organized crime has charged a government minister and three others with abuse of position and falsifying of documents related to a luxury real estate project linked to U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. The charges came on Monday. The investigation centers on a controversy over a a bombed-out military complex in central Belgrade that was a protected cultural heritage zone but that is facing redevelopment as a luxury compound by a company linked to Kushner. The $500 million proposal to build a high-rise hotel, offices and shops at the site has met fierce opposition from experts at home and abroad. Selakovic and others allegedly illegally lifted the protection status for the site by falsifying documentation.
