Alphabet earnings: 5 things to watch as Google’s parent reports

The search giant will announce earnings for its March-ending quarter at the close of the markets today. Here are five things we’ll be thinking about:

• Thomson Reuters analysts expect earnings of $9.33 per share on revenue of $30.3 billion.
• The earnings come as the public is increasingly uneasy about data-driven advertising platforms like Google and Facebook. (Facebook announces earnings Wednesday).
• Some investors are worried that Alphabet could be the target of new data privacy regulations in the wake of Facebook’s Cambridge Analytica scandal. Currently, Google and Facebook hold a duopoly in the interactive advertising world, concentrating spend and limiting ad-buying options.
• Alphabet will use several new reporting practices starting today. It will begin listing the value of its nonpublic investments (like Uber and Magic Leap) every quarter as the valuations of the investments change. It will report Nest results as part of the Google “hardware” bucket, instead of in “Other Bets.” It will provide ad impressions data from Google ads placed on non-Google sites.
• Alphabet shares are rising in front of earnings report.