TechCrunch parent company AOL released its Q2 earnings before the market opened this morning, reporting profit down by 1%, but revenue that beat expectations thanks to a 60% jump in advertising revenue from the company’s third-party advertising platform, which reached $194.3 million in the quarter. Meanwhile, ad revenue increased 20% to $451.7 million, also aided by the acquisition of Adap.tv.
Advertising has become a large revenue stream for AOL as it tries to move away from its dependence on dial-up subscription revenues. AOL, which also owns Huffington Post and others blogs, including this one, has been focusing too on video content, currently with unscripted, celebrity-driven reality shows and documentaries.
AOL’s total revenue was also up by 12% to $606.8 million, while analysts had been predicting earnings of 44 cents per share on revenue of $596 million, based on non-GAAP EPS consensus estimates.
AOL profit declined to $28.2 million, or 34 cents a share, down from a $28.5 million, or 35 cents a share, a year earlier. 34 cents per share was higher than Wall St.’s estimate of $0.32, however. AOL’s adjusted EPS of $0.45 was ahead of consensus estimate by $0.01.
Remarkably, AOL’s internet-access subscription revenue (yes people who pay AOL for internet access), though down 7% to $155.1 million, is still alive and kicking.
Investors have been reacting favorably to the news, despite the decline in profit, and the stock was up 5% in pre-market trading.