對科技界而言，這是一個不錯的季度，對谷歌而言，情勢則更加喜人。上周四，谷歌的母公司Alphabet發布的財報超過了分析師的預期，這也讓公司股價當周上漲了6%。

這是非同尋常的成就，因為不久以前，谷歌還像一家后勁乏力的公司。它核心的搜索業務似乎正走向停滯，投資者對于公司“登月計劃”在未來派技術上不斷虧錢，也越來越沒有耐心。

那如何解釋谷歌這個季度的出色表現？從某方面來說，他們（目前）打消了籠罩公司的三大擔憂。具體如下：

1. 谷歌解決了移動廣告問題

桌面搜索廣告是谷歌的搖錢樹之一，但是這個市場對他們來說已經成熟了。與此同時，移動端廣告一直是他們的心病，因為屏幕太小，品牌不愿付那么多錢。這讓一些人擔心谷歌長期以來的增長神話即將結束。但這種論調可以到此為止了。正如《華爾街日報》（Wall Street Journal）所說：

谷歌表示，“增長的最大動力來自移動端搜索?！痹谏洗问找骐娫挄h上，谷歌強調了移動端搜索助力下的移動端購物的增速之快。首席執行官桑德爾·皮查分引用了零售商威廉姆斯·索諾瑪（Williams Sonoma）的例子，表示該公司的移動端銷量同比增長了70%。

與此同時，谷歌從YouTube上獲取的廣告收入也在大幅提升，這意味著桌面搜索的增速放緩現在已經不是個大問題了。

2. 谷歌的“其他”領域不再是個吸金的黑洞

谷歌涉獵的其他領域很多，汽車、無人機、機器人和智能城市等等不一而足。盡管這些走在時代前沿的項目是科學家的夢想，卻是投資者的夢魘。

然而，2015年盧斯·波拉特來到公司擔任首席財務官，意味著谷歌在所謂的“其他”業務上有了新的財政紀律。盡管在谷歌，“紀律”只是意味著“登月計劃”要減少虧損。最新的財報還帶來了另外的好消息：谷歌如今在搜索業務之外還有新的進賬了。

路透社報道稱：“公司周四發布的財報中‘其他收入’這一項，同比增長了49.4%，達到31億美元，這已經比Twitter的年收入還高了。這部分業務如今占據了Alphabet總收入的13%，而去年的比例是10%?！彼≒ixel手機和為商業用戶提供的云計算服務。

3. 谷歌平息了關于反壟斷問題和廣告爭議的擔憂

谷歌的唱衰者們警告稱，公司屢遭反壟斷調查，又因將廣告投入極端主義者或仇恨網站而遭到抵制，這些都帶來了風險。但目前來看，這些威脅都影響不大。

在監管方面，特朗普當局似乎無意收緊反壟斷法規。在這樣的政治環境下，開玩笑稱谷歌收購Facebook和新西蘭也能獲得許可，都不算太過。

至于廣告引發的爭議——最近一些品牌宣稱他們將停止向谷歌支付廣告費——似乎并沒有影響谷歌的財源。看起來，谷歌承諾更好地管理廣告，以及大幅改進搜索算法的報道，已經暫時平息了廣告商的怒火。（財富中文網）

譯者：嚴匡正

It's been a good quarter for tech and a very good one for Google. On Thursday, its parent company, Alphabet, posted earnings that beat analyst expectations, helping lift its share price 6% for the week.

This is remarkable because, not so long ago, Google looked like a company that was running out of gas. Its core search business looked like it was on the road to stagnation, and investors had grown impatient with its money-losing "moonshot" bets on futuristic technology.

So what explains Google's great quarter? One way you can look at it has (for now) dispelled three big worries that were hanging over the company. Here's a summary:

1. Google fixed its mobile advertising problems

Desktop search ads are a money machine for Google, but the market for them is mature. Meanwhile, mobile ads presented a problem because the screens are small and brands won't pay as much. This led some to fret that Google's longtime growth story was coming to an end. So much for that. As the Wall Street Journal reported:

“The biggest contributor to growth was mobile search,” said [the company]. As it did during its last earnings call, Google emphasized how fast mobile shopping—fueled by mobile search—is growing in particular. [CEO Sundar] Pichai cited the example of the retailer Williams Sonoma, which he said enjoyed a 70% increase in mobile sales year over year.

Meanwhile, it appears ad revenue from YouTube is growing quickly as well—meaning the desktop slowdown is not such a problem for now.

2. Google's "other" category is no longer a black hole

Google dabbles in all sorts of other businesses—cars, drones, robots, and smart cities, for example. But while such projects far-out there were a scientist's dreams, they were an investor's nightmare.

The arrival of chief financial officer Ruth Porat in 2015, however, has meant new fiscal discipline on the so-called "other" businesses. While "discipline" in Google's case means the moonshots are losing less money, the latest earnings call also brought a new form of good news: Google is now making real money from something besides search.

"The business, categorized as "Other Revenue" in its earnings report, posted a 49.4% jump in revenue to $3.10 billion on Thursday—an amount that is already bigger than Twitter's annual revenue. The business now represents about 13% of Alphabet's total revenue, compared with 10% a year earlier," notes a Reuters report, which points to revenue from things like Pixel phones and cloud computing services for business customers.

3. Antitrust and Ad Controversy Worries Recede

Google's negative nellies have warned that the company risks running into antitrust actions, or a financial backlash over its ads appearing on extremist or hate sites. But neither of these threats look very dire right now.

On the regulatory front, it appears the Trump Administration is uninterested in enforcing antitrust rules much at all. It's only slight hyperbole to say in this political climate that Google could get approval to acquire both Facebook and New Zealand.

And as for the ad controversy—which recently led some brands to vow they would pull their money from Google—it doesn't appear to have affected Google's finances. It's likely that the company's vow to do more to police its ads, along with news of big changes to its search algorithm, has placated advertisers for the time being.