Google revenue jumps 14% to $46 billion, stock soars

Despite a global pandemic, the biggest tech antitrust lawsuit in more than two decades and an escalating battle against accusations of censorship, Google is doing just fine.

The tech giant’s parent company, Alphabet, reported revenue of $46.17 billion for the three months ending in September — a 14% increase from the same period last year — highlighting its continued dominance even while facing numerous obstacles.

The company also reported net income for the third quarter of $11.2 billion, blowing past analyst estimates. Alphabet stock rose more than 8% in after-hours trading on Thursday.

The earnings came a day after Alphabet’s CEO, Sundar Pichai, faced hours of questioning from lawmakers — along with the CEOs of Facebook and Twitter — over their content moderation policies and accusations of political bias.

Pichai defended his company’s handling of content, saying it approaches its work without political bias, “full stop.”

“To do otherwise would be contrary to both our business interests and our mission, which compels us to make information accessible to every type of person, no matter where they live or what they believe,” he added.

Google was also hit with an antitrust lawsuit by the US Department of Justice last week, the largest such case against a tech company in more than two decades when Microsoft was sued. The Justice Department alleged that Google has stifled competition to maintain its powerful position in the marketplace for online search and search advertising.

Google refuted those accusations, criticizing the lawsuit as “deeply flawed.”

“People use Google because they choose to, not because they’re forced to, or because they can’t find alternatives,” Google’s Senior Vice President for Global Affairs, Kent Walker, wrote in a blog post.

The Justice Department, meanwhile, has said “nothing is off the table” when it comes to regulating the company.

Google, which also owns YouTube, and other Big Tech firms have their biggest stress test still on the horizon. The companies have spent months instituting new policies on political advertising and cracking down on misinformation ahead of the November 3 US presidential election.