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).
Nvidia on Wednesday became the first public company to reach a market capitalization of $5 trillion. The ravenous appetite for the Silicon Valley company’s chips is the main reason that the company’s stock price has increased so rapidly since early 2023.
Chris Williamson, Chief Business Economist at S&P Global, breaks down September’s CPI print and inflation trends, explaining what it means for markets.
A big-screen adaptation of the anime “Chainsaw Man” has topped the North American box office, beating a Springsteen biopic and “Black Phone 2.” The movie earned $17.25 million in the U.S. and Canada this weekend. “Black Phone 2” fell to second place with $13 million. Two new releases, the rom-com “Regretting You” and “Springsteen — Deliver Me From Nowhere,” earned $12.85 million and $9.1 million, respectively. “Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc” is based on the manga series about a demon hunter. It's another win for Sony-owned Crunchyroll, which also released a “Demon Slayer” film last month that debuted to a record $70 million.
The Federal Aviation Administration says flights departing for Los Angeles International Airport were halted briefly due to a staffing shortage at a Southern California air traffic facility. The FAA issued a temporary ground stop at one of the world’s busiest airports on Sunday morning soon after U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy predicted that travelers would see more flights delayed as the nation’s air traffic controllers work without pay during the federal government shutdown. The hold on planes taking off for LAX lasted an hour and 45 minutes and didn't appear to cause continued problems. The FAA said staffing shortages also delayed planes headed to Washington, Chicago and Newark, New Jersey on Sunday.
Boeing workers at three Midwest plants where military aircraft and weapons are developed have voted to reject the company’s latest contract offer and to continue a strike that started almost three months ago. The strike by about 3,200 machinists at the plants in the Missouri cities of St. Louis and St. Charles, and in Mascoutah, Illinois, is smaller in scale than a walkout last year by 33,000 Boeing workers who assemble commercial jetliners. The president of the International Association of Machinists says Sunday's outcome shows Boeing hasn't adequately addressed wages and retirement benefits. Boeing says Sunday's vote was close with 51% of union members opposing the revised offer.
