Google rebounds from unprecedented drop in ad revenue with a resurgence that pushes stock higher

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Google snapped out of an unprecedented advertising slump during its latest quarter, signaling a return to growth cycle needed to fuel investments in artificial intelligence technology that expected to reshape the competitive landscape

SAN FRANCISCO — Google snapped out of an unprecedented advertising slump during its latest quarter, signaling a return to growth cycle needed to fuel investments in artificial intelligence technology that expected to reshape the competitive landscape.

The results for the April-June period released Tuesday by Google's corporate parent, Alphabet Inc., reversed a financial downswing that had raised fears Google was losing its financial steam at the same time advances in artificial intelligence, or AI, threatened to undercut the dominant search engine that powers its digital ad empire.

But after Google’s ad revenue suffered year-over-year declines in consecutive quarters for the first time in its history, ad sales rose 3% from a year ago to $58.1 billion during the second quarter. That was better than analysts had been anticipating, according to FactSet Research.

Those gains helped lift Alphabet’s total revenue for the period by 7% from last year to $74.6 billion. The company posted a profit of $18.4 billion, or $1.44 per share, a 15% increase from the same time last year. Both those numbers also surpassed the analyst estimates that steer investors.

The Mountain View, California, company also announced that Chief Financial Officer Ruth Porat will take on the newly created role of president and chief investment officer. Alphabet will seek a new CFO to take over a job that Porat, a former investment banker, has handled for the past eight years.

Alphabet’s stock price surged nearly 8% in Tuesday’s