MICHAEL LIEDTKE Technology Writer.

FILE - Audience members gather at Made By Google for new product announcements at Google on Aug. 13, 2024, in Mountain View, Calif. (AP Photo/Juliana Yamada, File)

Google’s AI push pays off with solid second quarter, but doubts about company’s future persist

Google’s accelerating shift into artificial intelligence helped propel its corporate parent to another quarter of solid growth while a crackdown on its internet empire looms in the background. The results released Wednesday for the April-June period provided the latest sign that Google is deftly navigating the technological landscape’s tilt toward AI while still capitalizing on well-worn techniques that have made it the internet’s main gateway for the past quarter century. Google’s progress enabled its parent company Alphabet to post earnings and revenue growth that exceeded analysts’ predictions, causing the company’s stock to rise more than 2% in Wednesday’s extended trading after initially sinking over concerns about increased spending on AI.

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Netflix delivers another strong performance in second quarter while following a familiar script

Netflix on Thursday announced another quarter of steady growth built upon its video streaming service’s more than 300 million subscribers. It’s a familiar script that Netflix has followed for the past three years to widen its lead in video streaming while delivering strong financial results. While Netflix’s earnings once again easily eclipsed Wall Street’s expectations during the April-June period, its revenue came in right around the bar set by analysts. Investors evidently were hoping for a more robust performance as Netflix’s high-flying stock dipped in extended trading.

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FILE - The Apple logo is displayed at an Apple store, Jan. 3, 2019. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)

Apple loses bid to halt court ruling that blocks some fees from its iPhone app store

A three-judge appeals panel rejected Apple’s request to pause an April 30 order banning the company from charging a fee on in-app iPhone transactions processed outside its once-exclusive payment system in a two-page decision issued late Thursday. The setback threatens to divert billions of dollars in revenue away from Apple while it tried to overturn the order reining in its commissions from e-commerce within iPhone apps. Apple sought to put the order on hold shortly after it was issued as part of a stinging rebuke that also held the company in civil contempt of court. It marked the latest twist in a long-running legal battle with Epic Games.

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