<p>SAN RAMON, Calif. — Google’s digital advertising network has shifted back into high gear after an unprecedented reversal during the early stages of the pandemic.</p>
<p>The robust first-quarter advertising growth announced Tuesday provides the latest sign that advertisers are expecting the economy to roar back to life as more people get vaccinated against COVID-19 and burst out of their pandemic cocoons.</p>
<p>That is particularly true in the travel industry, a key part of the ad market that drastically curtailed its spending last year after governments around the world imposed lockdowns to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus.</p>
<p>Google vast digital ad empire is now benefiting from that recovery.</p>
<p>The company’s ad sales surged 32% from the same time last year to nearly $45 billion during the January-March period. Its’s the third consecutive quarter of accelerating ad growth for Google following an 8% decline during last year’s April-June period. That marked the first time Google’s quarterly ad revenue had fallen from the previous year since the company went public in 2004.</p>
<p>The resurgence enabled Google’s parent, Alphabet Inc., to easily surpass the analyst estimates that help set investor expectations. </p>
<p>Alphabet earned $17.9 billion, or $26.29 per share, more than double what it reported the same time last year. Total revenue, which also includes Google’s cloud-hosting service and device sales, climbed 34% from last year.</p>
<p>Analysts had projected earnings of $15.76 per share on revenue of $51.5 billion, according to FactSet.</p>
<p>The performance pleased investors, who drove up Alphabet’s stock by 4% in extended trading after the numbers came out.</p>
