Google reported a massive increase in quarterly sales on Tuesday, propelled by its search and advertising businesses, the same industries receiving antitrust scrutiny.
In the fourth quarter, revenue at Alphabet, Google’s parent company, increased 32 percent year over year to $75.3 billion, topping the $72.13 billion predicted by analysts polled by Yahoo Finance. The company had a net profit of $20.6 billion. The company’s earnings per share came in at $30.69, above analysts’ expectations of $27.48.
In addition, the firm announced a 20-for-1 stock split, which is subject to shareholder approval. After completing the day 1.6 percent higher at $2,757.57, Google shares jumped more than 7% in after-hours trading.
Google’s company has remained resilient in the face of increased regulatory scrutiny and litigation launched by both federal and state attorneys general. Regulators and prosecutors are looking at everything from Google’s app store to its Android operating system, the world’s most popular mobile software platform.
Google has been accused by the US Department of Justice of preventing rivals from being the default search choice on mobile devices. Two lawsuits have been brought against the corporation by groupings of state attorneys general. Google has vehemently refuted the allegations made in the lawsuits.
Congress has taken notice of Google’s dominance in web search and digital advertising. A House Judiciary panel decided that Google and other digital behemoths had abused their dominant status to stifle competition. The House Judiciary Committee authorized six proposals aimed at tech giants last year, but no floor vote has been scheduled.
Sundar Pichai, the firm’s CEO, said the business wants to work with legislators and regulators “constructively” but voiced fear that new legislation may have “unintended consequences.”
During a conference call with Wall Street analysts, he stated, “We are dedicated to handling it constructively.”
The might of Google is scary. The Mountain View, California-based internet giant, has a near-90 percent hold of the US search market, which underpins its large advertising business. Moreover, the advertising division generates almost the majority of the company’s sales.
Ad sales at the company’s YouTube video segment increased by 25.4 percent to $8.6 billion, while the increase was slower than the company’s total growth. Sales at Google Cloud, which leases server space and artificial intelligence technologies, surged 44.6 percent to $5.5 billion despite a deficit.