Google parent beats earnings expectations for Q1

Google parent company, Alphabet, beat earnings expectations for the first quarter of 2018, according to the numbers released Monday.

Why it matters: There's a big question market above Google as it prepares to face unprecedented data privacy regulations in Europe and its own privacy reckoning in the United States.

The details: Alphabet declared earnings-per-share of $13.33, compared to the $9.28 the Wall Street Journal said was expected by analysts. The company said it had more than $31 billion in revenue in the first quarter.

EU business: Chief Executive Sundar Pichai pushed back on the idea that the new European regulations, known as GDPR, could hurt the company's ad targeting business.

• "First of all, it's important to understand that most of our ad business is search, where we rely on very limited information, essentially what is in the keywords to show a relevant ad or product," he said, while noting that the company plans to update its privacy settings for users as the regulations come into effect in late May.

Other Bets: This quarter, Alphabet moved its Nest division into Google's hardware team, meaning that its financials will now be part of Google's other revenues instead of the Other Bets section.

• In 2017 Q1, Nest generated $112 million in revenue, $151 million in Q2, $185 million in Q3, and $278 million in Q4, based on the newest earnings reports as compared to last year's.
• In 2017, Nest sold more devices than in the previous two years combined, said Google CEO Sundar Pichai during the company's earnings call.
• The majority of Other Bets revenue comes from the Fiber and Verily units, said CFO Ruth Porat.

The story has been updated with more details.