Jan 26, 2017

Alphabet is curbing its 'moonshot' losses

AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File

Google's parent company posted mixed results for the fourth quarter of 2016: $26.06 billion in revenue, beating analyst estimates of $25.26 billion, and $9.36 in earnings per share, missing analyst estimates of $9.64.

But there is good news: The losses from its "Other bets"—Nest along with the crazy projects like Internet drones, self-driving cars, and health research—has shrunk to $1.09 billion. "Other bets" lost $1.21 billion in the year-ago quarter. The category's revenue has also grown to $262 million, up from $150 million in the year-ago quarter.

How that happened: Much of this is likely due to CFO Ruth Porat's disciplined approach to Alphabet's finances. While the company used to more freely invest in experimental projects, Porat's set out to curb unnecessary costs and shed projects that won't contribute to the company's bottom line.

  • In the past year, Google has sought to sell or shut down several such divisions, including Boston Dynamics, Titan, and reportedly Terra Bella, and Google Fiber, among others.

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Axios
Updated 2 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

  1. Global: Total confirmed cases as of 10 p.m. ET: 32,471,119 — Total deaths: 987,593 — Total recoveries: 22,374,557 — Map.
  2. U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 10 p.m. ET: 7,032,524 — Total deaths: 203,657 — Total recoveries: 2,727,335 — Total tests: 99,483,712 — Map.
  3. States: "We’re not closing anything going forward": Florida fully lifts COVID restaurant restrictions — Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam tests positive for coronavirus.
  4. Health: Young people accounted for 20% of cases this summer.
  5. Business: Coronavirus has made airports happier places —The expiration of Pandemic Unemployment Assistance looms.
  6. Education: Where bringing students back to school is most risky.
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Mike Allen, author of AM
4 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Biden pushes unity message in new TV wave

A fresh Joe Biden ad, "New Start," signals an effort by his campaign to make unity a central theme, underscoring a new passage in his stump speech that says he won't be a president just for Democrats but for all Americans.

What he's saying: The ad — which began Friday night, and is a follow-up to "Fresh Start" — draws from a Biden speech earlier in the week in Manitowoc, Wisconsin:

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Jonathan Swan, Alayna Treene, Sam Baker
5 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Trump prepares to announce Amy Coney Barrett as Supreme Court replacement

Judge Amy Coney Barrett. Photo: Matt Cashore/Notre Dame University via Reuters

President Trump is preparing to nominate federal appeals court Judge Amy Coney Barrett of Indiana, a favorite of both the social conservative base and Republican elected officials, to succeed Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Republican sources tell Axios.

Why it matters: Barrett would push the already conservative court further and harder to the right, for decades to come, on the most important issues in American politics — from abortion to the limits of presidential power. If confirmed, she would give conservatives a 6-3 majority on the high court.

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