Alphabet Inc., the parent of Google, said that the Internet advertising and search engine company earned $7 billion or $10.12 per share in the third quarter ended September 30, on sales of $40.5 billion. Analysts said that earnings fell short of the $8.7 billion, or 12.42 per share originally projected.
Google’s third-quarter revenue did rise 20% over the year-ago fiscal quarter. However, overall profits fell from a year ago due to higher expense. Capital expenditures rose as Google expanded its headquarters and data centers for its cloud computing business, according to reports. Google’s headcount has risen from 94,318 to 114,096 over the past year, likely increasing costs.
“I am extremely pleased with the progress we made across the board in the third quarter, from our recent advancements in search and quantum computing to our strong revenue growth driven by mobile search, YouTube and Cloud,” said Sundar Pichai, Chief Executive Officer of Google, in a statement. “We’re focused on providing the most helpful services to our users and partners, and we see many opportunities ahead.”
Google, along with other technology giants, has come under increasing pressure by legislators calling for large media platforms to be more open.
CEO Pichai reportedly addressed regulatory concerns on a conference call with investors Monday, where he said Google’s products and services are beneficial and low-cost for consumers.