The daily business briefing: February 5, 2019

Alphabet posts strong earnings but shares fall, GM launches a 4,000-job layoff round, and more

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(Image credit: General Motors logo in Michigan)

1. Alphabet shares fall despite better-than-expected earnings

Shares of Google-parent Alphabet dropped by about 3 percent in after-hours trading on Monday after the tech giant reported quarterly earnings that beat expectations but said its advertising prices were falling as costs rise. Earnings were $12.77 per share, exceeding expectations of $10.82, according to Refinitiv consensus estimates. Revenue hit $39.28 billion, narrowly beating Refinitiv consensus estimates of $38.93 billion. Cost per click on Google properties fell by 29 percent compared to last year, and by 9 percent compared to last quarter, potentially raising concerns that the lower amounts Google can charge advertisers indicates its power is eroding.

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Harold Maass, The Week US

Harold Maass is a contributing editor at The Week. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 debut of the U.S. print edition and served as editor of TheWeek.com when it launched in 2008. Harold started his career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida and Haiti. He has previously worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, ABC News and Fox News, and for several years wrote a daily roundup of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance.