Google’s parent Alphabet records profits again | Business news

Alphabet, Google’s parent company, posted record profits for the third consecutive quarter, buoyed by rising ad spending as more consumers shop online during the pandemic.

The company revealed that it beat expectations for quarterly revenue, despite being hit by new restrictions on how it tracks customers online.

Alphabet, the world’s largest provider of search and video ads, saw its revenue rise to $65.1 billion (£47.29 billion), while Google’s sales jumped 41% to $53.1 billion (£38.58 billion).

Meanwhile, Alphabet’s quarterly profit was $18.93 billion (£13.75 billion), marking the company’s third consecutive quarter of record profits.

Alphabet shares are up 24% in six months and 62% in the year to date, solidly outperforming the market as a whole, as consumers have spent most of their lives online during the pandemic.

But investors were concerned about recent changes in the way the company tracks users. In April, Apple introduced a new privacy notice that enabled users to prevent companies like Google and Facebook from tracking their activity on other apps and websites.

The update is included in iOS 14.5, which makes it mandatory for iPhone apps to obtain device owner permission before collecting this additional data.

The companies said this week that the change has already affected Snapchat and Facebook’s results for the quarter.

Google also faces heavy criticism from US lawmakers and campaign groups who argue that the company wields too much power.

In a lawsuit filed by a group of US states revealed this week, the group alleged that the search giant is abusing its monopoly power in online advertising to reduce competition and harm consumers.

“Google is now using its massive market power to extract a very high tax of 22-42% from the ad dollars that would otherwise flow to countless publishers and online content producers such as online newspapers, cooking sites and blogs that survive by selling ads on their sites. Sites and Apps,” states the uncertified filing.

Last month, Bloomberg News reported that the US Department of Justice was preparing to sue Google over its commercial practices in advertising technology, alleging antitrust violations.