Google and Amazon make billions more than expected in latest earnings reports

A strong third quarter for the two tech giants

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in New York on October 13, 2017. (REUTERS/Brendan McDermid)

Google’s parent company Alphabet reported better-than-expected earnings on Thursday, beating out predictions on share per price and earnings.

Alphabet pulled in $27.2 billion for the three-month period ending at the close of September, a jump of more than $5 billion from a year earlier. That far exceeded Bloomberg’s estimate that analysts were expecting $21.95 billion.

Google advertising revenue drove much of that increase, jumping by more than $4 billion from the third quarter of 2016. And the company was earning more for each time a user interacted wth an ad, reporting that its aggregate cost-per-click rose by one percent.

Adjusted earnings per share also beat out expectations, with Alphabet reporting a figure of $9.57 per share. Investors has anticipated a price of around $8.33.

Online retailer Amazon also posted strong results, reporting $43.7 billion in earnings - well above the $42.1 billion investors had expected. Its sales leaped by 34 percent over the previous quarter.

Far exceeding investors estimates of 3 cents per share, Amazon reported its 52 cents per share in income.

Amazon Web Services, the company’s cloud-computing unit, saw its revenues soar by 41.9 percent, beating out estimates in reaching $4.58 billion.

In a statement accompanying the release, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos attributed the company's strong numbers to the popularity of its voice-activated home aide Alexa.

“Customers have purchased tens of millions of Alexa-enabled devices, given Echo devices over 100,000 5-star reviews, and active customers are up more than 5x since the same time last year“, Mr Bezos said.

Reflecting the robust earnings numbers, both companies saw their shares rise in after-hours trading.