Google's global revenue increase, up 78% last quarter compared to the previous quarter, reflects the "rising tide" of just how much the world depends on the internet, a Big Tech executive recently announced.
Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai commented in a news release announcing the two companies' financial results for the quarter that ended June 30. The companies' support for artificial intelligence (AI) was one of the drivers of that increase, Pichai said.
"In Q2, there was a rising tide of online activity in many parts of the world, and we're proud that our services helped so many consumers and businesses," Pichai said. "Our long-term investments in AI and Google Cloud are helping us drive significant improvements in everyone’s digital experience."
Consumer activity over the quarter also played its part, Google and Alphabet CFO Ruth Porat said in the release.
"Our strong second-quarter revenues of $61.9 billion reflect elevated consumer online activity and broad-based strength in advertiser spend," Porat said. "Again, we benefited from excellent execution across the board by our teams."
The federal government has tried to establish antitrust laws that would restrict acquisitive activities by Big Tech firms such as Google, its parent company Alphabet, Facebook and Twitter. The feds have gone after those tech giants for unfairly wielding a substantial amount of power, according to a New York Times article published last month.
The biggest possible roadblock for continued expansion is probably continued interest on the part of the feds to pursue even more antitrust legislation, Dave Heger, an Edward Jones communications analyst, said in the Times article. That, however, will take time, Heger said.
"Regulators at the moment are probably the biggest potential roadblock for Alphabet, but antitrust lawsuits will take years," he said. "In the interim, the company will continue to grow and add value to advertisers. History is probably in its favor."
In another article published the same day, the Times reported on Google's global revenue second-quarter increases.