Google rebounds from unprecedented drop in ad revenue with a resurgence

Google snapped out of an unprecedented advertising slump during its latest quarter signaling a return to growth cycle needed to fuel investments in artificial intelligence technology that expected to reshape the competitive landscapeThe results for the AprilJune period released Tuesday by Googles corporate parent Alphabet Inc reversed a financial downswing that had raised fears Google was losing its financial steam at the same time advances in artificial intelligence or AI threatened to undercut the dominant search engine that powers its digital ad empireBut after Googles ad revenue suffered yearoveryear declines in consecutive quarters for the first time in its history ad sales rose 337 from a year ago to 581 billion during the second quarter That was better than analysts had been anticipating according to FactSet ResearchThose gains helped lift Alphabets total revenue for the period by 737 from last year to 746 billion The company posted a profit of 184 billion or 144 per share a 1537 increase from the same time last year Both those numbers also surpassed the analyst estimates that steer investorsThe Mountain View California company also announced that Chief Financial Officer Ruth Porat will take on the newly created role of president and chief investment officer Alphabet will seek a new CFO to take over a job that Porat a former investment banker has handled for the past eight yearsAlphabets stock price surged nearly 837 in Tuesdays extended trading after the results came out The shares have climbed nearly 5037 so far this year with much of the gains since Google provided a deeper dive into its AI products and strategy during a May conference That presentation helped alleviate concerns that Google is being outmaneuvered in a pivotal field of technology by Microsoft which is backing and deploying some of the breakthroughs made by Open AI and its popular chatbot ChatGPTThe brewing battle for AI supremacy is expected to require billions of dollars in investments in the years to come money that Alphabet should be able to get from Googles advertising machine as long as it can continue the steady growth of the past 20 years But Google has recently been facing more daunting challenges not only from the ChatGPTlike technology that Microsoft has been embedding in its Bing search engine but also from Amazon in shopping and TikTok and Reddit in hot topicsIn the most recent quarter though Google showed signs of renewed vigor Our continued leadership in AI and our excellence in engineering and innovation are driving the next evolution of Search and improving all our services Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai saidAfter YouTube saw its ad sales fall yearoverover in three straight quarters as TikToks audience swelled Googles popular video site also bounced back with a 437 increase in ad revenue from last year Meanwhile the Google Cloud division that provides the behindthescenes technology for a wide swath of websites The Cloud division also posted its second consecutive profitable quarter in a development that has pleased investorsPorats promotion signaled Alphabet is looking to pare the losses in its longunprofitable Other Bets division that includes selfdriving car pioneer Waymo and other farflung projects working on technology expected to take many years to yield a return When she takes on her new role as Alphabets president Porat will oversee the Other Bets portfolio as part of a commitment to drive financial discipline and returns for shareholders while spearheading investment to create sustainable longterm value Pichai saidThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever