Alphabet just reported its second quarter earnings for 2017, and the numbers were as expected. The advertising business built around Google, Android, and YouTube continues to account for the vast majority of the revenue and all the profit. The company, despite its massive size, continues to grow revenue at a double-digit rate on a year-over-year basis. And while it’s true that profit was down a bit this quarter, that’s only on account of a one-time, $2.7 billion fine levied by regulators in the European Union.

For the first three months of this year, Alphabet reported just over $26 billion in revenue, up 21 percent from the same period last year. Without the EU fine, it would have notched $6.87 billion in operating income, up around 15…

Continue reading…