SAN FRANCISCO — (AP) — Google is still thriving while the company navigates through a pivotal shift to artificial intelligence and battles regulators trying to topple its internet empire.
The latest evidence of Google’s prosperity emerged Tuesday with the release of its corporate parent Alphabet Inc.’s results for the July-September period. Both Alphabet’s profit and revenue increased at a brisker pace than industry analysts anticipated, thanks primarily to a moneymaking machine powered by Google’s ubiquitous search engine.
Alphabet earned $26.3 billion, or $2.12 per share during the most recent quarter, a 34% increase from a year ago. Revenue rose 15% from the same time last year to $88.27 billion.
“Our commitment to innovation as well as the long-term focus and investment in AI are paying off,” Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai said during a call discussing the results.
The profits would have been even higher if Google wasn’t pouring so much …