Alphabet rides mobile ad binge, while moonshot spending ebbs

After struggling for years to wring profit from the mobile boom, Google is benefiting from a surge in clicks on ads on smartphones. 

Capitalising on consumers’ shift toward handsets and away from laptops, Google crammed more ads into mobile search results, including new lucrative shopping spots, while running more promotions on its Maps app. The result: Parent Alphabet Inc beat analysts’ sales projections in the first quarter, ending a four-year streak of missing Wall Street estimates after the holidays.