Research archive for GOOG

We are in the thick of US earnings season now, and next on the list was Google, out after the closing bell on Wall Street last night. The holding company is actually called Alphabet, but the share code is GOOGL, so that's that.

For many US tech companies China is the final frontier. Mostly because it has been completely out of bounds. Companies like Amazon, Google and Facebook have very little to do in China because they have been blocked from operating there. This is partly why Trump is taking the Chinese on with these trade wars.

Have you ever tried searching for something on a website and then get frustrated because the search function cannot predict what you are thinking? Google has done that to you. The Google search function is so fantastic that searching for anything that is not supported by Google is incredibly frustrating.

The more I think about it, the more frustrated I get about this Google fine. Michael explained it nicely yesterday, but I want to touch on it again. Android is a free platform that has been adopted by most phone manufacturers. What a win, the phone manufacturers like Samsung and Huawei do not need to worry about the software of their products. That responsibility sits in the great and consistent hands of Google, who have created Android for free.

As we reported yesterday, Alphabet released their 1Q numbers after the market close on Monday. The results beat even the loftiest of expectations, but the stock dropped after these results. Even though they beat on top-line and bottom line, there has been a shift in the mechanics of the business, which will make it less profitable long-term.

On the 1st of February, Alphabet/Google blessed us with financials for the last quarter of the year, as well as the full-year numbers for the year ending on 31 December 2017. The company missed earnings expectations, with $9.70 per share coming in just under the $9.98 forecast. Shares were down 5% in after-hours trading when those numbers came out.

Alphabet 3Q results Stick with the theme of Prof. Scott Galloway here. In his book The Four he says that GOOGLE is a modern man's God. Where our advantage lies as a species is that we have a superior brain to all other animals.. A brain that is so robust it can ask incredibly complex, nuanced questions but our brain isn't robust enough to answer these questions. As society becomes more affluent and educated, its dependence on a super-being decreases and church attendance goes down. Our questions don't get any easier or simpler. GOOGLE appeals to our need for a super-being as it creates a cerebral attraction to the need for answers to everything thats occupying our thoughts.

Alphabet. Alphabet is recently named as the holding company for Google, and their other businesses. Indicating that the company wants to increase their relative market shares in things outside of search. Search of course is synonymous with Google, you never hear anyone say, go Bing it or go Yahoo! it. Or for the older crowd amongst us, you never hear anyone say go Ask Jeeves it. Nor did you hear it in the days gone by, when web pages were flat html text, ah yes, the good old days!

Last week we had a cracking set of numbers come through from Alphabet, the holding company of Google, YouTube, Android, Nexus, Pixel and many other smaller businesses.

The company formally known as Google, Alphabet, reported their numbers for the fourth quarter and full year after the market closed last evening. Google still exists, it is just a business division. For the time being, the other businesses (aptly named "other bets") which includes a whole host of interesting opportunities, is unprofitable and contributes next to nothing on a relative basis to revenues.

Google announced a new phone yesterday, it is the "Pixel". From the website, Made by Google, the intro is titled Meet Pixel, Phone by Google. There was also the release of a home connected device, a speaker that is powered with the "Google assist" software. It is activated by saying, "OK Google". Remember that to activate Siri, you simply say, "Hey Siri". When I do this at my desk, it seems to activate Michael's (next to me) phone. Good voice projection I guess. And then some streaming devices, "coming soon", premium TV to Audio streaming. The connected home is here, it will take a while to integrate it all and my sense is that we will all bumble through until we learn. The internet of things is being unveiled in front of our eyes here, with the Amazon Echo, Apple HomeKit and Google Home automation devices. And Virtual Reality headsets, don't forget those.

Alphabet reported numbers last evening, this is for the second quarter to June 2016. The half year too, something that we are a little more accustomed to around these parts. Revenues for the quarter grew 21 percent over the comparable quarter in 2015, and 6 percent better than the previous quarter. Yowsers, that is some pretty exceptional growth. In constant currencies, as we still live in a world of relative Dollar strength to everything else, revenues increased 25 percent relative to the quarter this time last year. For comparisons sake to Facebook, who reported yesterday, Alphabet clocked revenues of 21.5 billion Dollars, more than three times that of Facebook.

Last week we had Alphabet Announcing First Quarter 2016 Results. This is only the second time that the results have been released under the name Alphabet. Before that it was known as Google.

Alphabet, the company formally known as Google reported numbers after the market close last evening. I am pretty sure that you have read the headlines already, Google overtakes Apple as the most valuable company in the world is what they read. And of course that is true, as of the close last evening Apple had a market capitalisation of 539 billion Dollars (the trillion Dollar curse), whilst Alphabet, and this is knowing your ABC's, was at 517 billion Dollars. In the aftermarket however, Google is up just over four percent, which means that it is touch and go as far as to which company is bigger. Of course this is always on paper, the stock, Google that is (we will continue to use it interchangeably, Google and Alphabet), is in unchartered territory. And I remember not so long ago that the chattering classes were referring to Google as a one trick pony, they were losing their mojo, and, and, and .....

I am an Alphabet, not a Googler. Surely not at the headquarters, people who work for Google, will still work for Google and are by extension Googlers. Not Alphabeters. The reason for the renaming and reorganisation of the business was essentially to take focus away from the business being a one pony trick, purely advertising and to focus on all of their other businesses including robotics, life sciences business, just a separation and reporting differently, that is all.