Business

Digital ad sales push AOL stocks up 10 percent

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Social Links for James Covert
Published May 8, 2015, 10:32 p.m. ET

AOL shares jumped more than 10 percent Friday after the company reported better-than-expected profits and revenue from its digital advertising platform.

The New York-based owner of the Huffington Post, TechCrunch and Engadget is getting a boost from its aggressive investments in advertising technology, CEO Tim Armstrong said.

Last month, the company launched a new ad platform called One by AOL that allows advertisers to buy space across different digital formats including mobile and video.

First-quarter revenue rose 7.2 percent to $625.1 million, while net income fell to $7 million, or 9 cents per share, from $9.3 million, or 11 cents, a year earlier.

On a Friday conference call with analysts, Armstrong said he aims to compete with Google and Facebook, the two dominant forces in online advertising.

“We’re building toward being one of the top three in this area,” Armstrong said.
AOL shares rose 10.2 percent to $43.42.