GOOG Alphabet Inc

By Douglas MacMillan 

Google's parent reported surging profit on slightly slower growth in revenue, signaling uncertainty in its core business at a time when it is also dealing with a growing backlash from regulators.

Alphabet Inc. reported profit growth surpassing analysts' estimates on Thursday, signaling that privacy missteps and increasing scrutiny from regulators haven't slowed demand from the marketers who contribute the vast bulk of the company's revenue.

Net profit jumped nearly 37% to $9.19 billion in the first quarter, from $6.7 billion in the same period last year. Overall revenue grew 21%, versus 24% in the same period a year ago. Ad revenue, which accounts for the vast majority of sales, rose 20% to $28.95 billion.

The results come after a period in which Alphabet lost more than one-sixth of its market capitalization in the span of three months. The Google parent has been dragged down by an October stock-market retreat. Shares of the company on Wednesday reached their lowest point in five months -- before rebounding 4.4% on Thursday ahead of the quarterly report to close at $1,097.18. Shares slipped after the close when results were issued.

Google has been fielding questions from lawmakers in Washington and Europe since The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this month the company never told users about a software bug that exposed the privacy data of hundreds of thousands of users. That incident led the company to shutter the consumer functionality of its Google+ social site.

(More to Come)

Write to Douglas MacMillan at douglas.macmillan@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 25, 2018 16:42 ET (20:42 GMT)

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