Google profits soar despite $5B fine

Profits, it seems, are as easy as A-B-C for Alphabet.

The Google parent reported betterthan-expected second-quarter profits and revenue on Monday — despite the company’s recent $5 billion antitrust fine levied by the European Commission.

The stellar quarter sent Alphabet shares up 3.2 percent in after-hours trading — to a new 52-week high, at $1,244.

The Mountain View, Calif., company’s $32.66 billion in second-quarter revenue, 86 percent of which came from Google’s advertising business, beat Wall Street’s estimate of $32.17 billion.

Alphabet also crushed profit expectations, reporting profits of $11.75 a share, compared with the forecast $9.30. At the same point last year, its earnings per share were $8.90.

“We delivered another quarter of very strong performance,” said Alphabet Chief Financial Officer Ruth Porat. “Our investments are driving great experiences for users, strong results for advertisers, and new business opportunities for Google and Alphabet.”

During its earnings call, CEO Sundar Pichai declined to answer any questions about how the EC’s fine would impact its mobile business. “We are analyzing the decision and I think it’s too early to comment or speculate,” he said.

Google is appealing the ruling, which found it abused its dominance in mobile software.

The tech titan’s advertising business continues to be its bread and butter, with global ad sales topping out at $28 billion, up nearly 25 percent year-over-year.

Meanwhile, Google’s “other revenues” category, which includes its cloud business as well as hardware sales such as the Pixel phone and Google Home smart speakers, reported $4.4 billion in revenue, a 36.5 percent year-over-year jump.