Google's moonshots appear not so crazy now as company proves its worth beyond mobile ads

Search, clicks and views aren't everything for Google anymore. 

Alphabet, the technology giant formerly known as Google, still makes majority of its revenue from ads, but it's starting to build big gains elsewhere. 

Google reported $3.7 billion in other revenue, including hardware and leaving out advertising, for the fourth quarter of 2016. In the grand scheme of Alphabet, that's quite small. It was bump up by 62 percent from the year prior. For Google, that's good. 

“Our growth in the fourth quarter was exceptional," said Ruth Porat, CFO of Alphabet, in a statement. "This performance was led by mobile search and YouTube. We’re seeing great momentum in Google’s newer investment areas and ongoing strong progress in Other Bets." Read more...