Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL)

[winston]

not vested

The FAANG stock that’s a no-brainer buy in October: Alphabet

by Sean Williams

With a multitude of economic datapoints pointing to slower growth or a potential recession, the company’s advertising-driven operating segments could see a sales slowdown.

Additionally, faster-growing businesses might choose to lower their cloud-based spending until the economic climate is more certain. This would likely slow the growth rate for Google Cloud.

There’s no question Google is the go-to for advertisers seeking to reach a broad audience or target their marketing campaign. Translation: Alphabet’s Google possesses exceptionally strong pricing power during long-winded periods of economic expansion.

While Google serves as a steady cash-flow foundation for Alphabet, it’s the company’s ancillary operating segments that are far more exciting for long-term investors.

For instance, Google Cloud has generated an operating profit in each of the past two quarters after years of losses. Traditionally, cloud services generate considerably higher margins than advertising. If Google Cloud continues to grow by a double-digit pace, which seems feasible given that enterprise cloud spending is still in its early innings, this segment could become Alphabet’s leading cash-flow driver within a couple of years.

Don’t overlook YouTube, either. The introduction of Shorts (short-form videos often lasting less than 60 seconds) has ballooned viewership and created new advertising opportunities. YouTube trails only Facebook as the world’s most-visited social site.

Lastly, Alphabet’s valuation is historically cheap, which makes its stock ripe for the picking. As of the closing bell on Oct. 3, 2023, shares of Alphabet could be purchased for just below 20 times forward-year earnings and roughly 14 times forward-year cash flow. Over the past five years, Alphabet has averaged a valuation of 25 times forward-year earnings and 18 times forward-year cash flow.

Source: The Motley Fool

https://tradesoftheday.com/2023/10/09/1 ... -to-avoid/

[winston]

not vested

Alphabet reported 11% revenue growth in the third quarter, as a rebound in advertising pushed expansion into double digits for the first time in over a year.

Earnings per share was US$1.55 per share vs. US$1.45 per share expected, while revenue came in at US$76.69B vs. US$75.97B expected.

The company also reported the following numbers:
1. YouTube advertising revenue was US$7.95B vs. US$7.81B expected
2. Google Cloud revenue was US$8.41B vs. US$8.64B expected and
3. Traffic acquisition costs was US$12.64B vs. US$12.63B

Even though cloud revenue disappointed, it still grew 22% from a year earlier, double the rate of expansion for the company as a whole.

The business also swung to an operating profit of US$266 million after losing US$440 million in the same period a year earlier.

Other bets, which includes the Waymo self-driving car business and the Verily life sciences unit, reported revenue of US$297 million, up from US$208 million the year prior. However, it reported a loss of US$1.19B, narrowing slightly from US$1.23B the prior year.

Source: Phillips

[winston]

not vested


Alphabet-C - Stock Analyst Research
Target Price* 144.00
Recommendation BUY
Market Cap* -
Publication Date 27 Oct 2023
*At the time of publication

Alphabet Inc. - Advertising rebound, but Cloud lags

3Q23 results were within expectations.

9M23 revenue/PATMI were at 72%/71% of our FY23e forecasts.

PATMI grew 42% YoY on higher operating leverage.

Ad revenue rebounded for a 3rd straight quarter as retail advertisers began preparing for the holiday season. Ad revenue growth tripled sequentially to 9% YoY.

Cloud was a disappointment, with revenue growth decelerating to 22% YoY due to moderating client spend, losing ground on competitor Microsoft’s Azure (29% YoY).

We maintain BUY with an unchanged DCF target price of US$144, with a WACC of 7.3% and a terminal growth rate of 3.5%.

Source: Phillips

https://www.poems.com.sg/stock-research/GOOG/

[winston]

not vested

Now Could Be a Great Time to Buy This Stock

by Brett Schafer

Compared to competitor Microsoft, Alphabet posted weak growth in its smaller cloud computing division.

Advertising growth is back.

Google Search revenue grew 11.3% year over year in the third quarter, hitting a staggering $44 billion in just three months.

Advertising at YouTube grew 12.4% year over year to $7.9 billion in the quarter.

YouTube Premium, YouTube Music and YouTube TV : The revenue earned from these offerings does not show up in the YouTube advertising segment on Alphabet’s income statement but in the “Google Other” category. The segment grew revenue 21% year over year to $8.33 billion — adding more than $1 billion in new quarterly revenue compared to 2022 — which indicates that YouTube’s overall revenue is growing quite quickly.

Operating margin was 28% in Q3, up from 25% in 2022.

Source: The Motley Fool

https://tradesoftheday.com/2023/10/31/n ... his-stock/

[winston]

not vested

Cathie Wood has a blunt warning for the future of Google's stock

Google currently makes money by using ads to deliver users to other websites.

Large language models like ChatGPT remove this route entirely, taking the information across all websites, synthesizing it and delivering it directly to users.

Deepwater's Gene Munster says, however, that once Google integrates Gemini into its flagship search engine, the "scale will tip back toward Google and we'll see a reacceleration."

The coming proliferation of AI, Douglas said, will likely erase any technical head starts Google has on the competition and further erode that vital consumer muscle memory.

"Google has enough momentum that they could not feel this for quite a while," he said. "But the main point is nobody has a head start on this stuff."

Source: The Street

https://www.thestreet.com/technology/go ... 7s%2Bstock

[winston]

not vested

This Stock Could Double Your Money in 2024

by Louis Navellier

Trading for 24 times forward earnings, GOOG continues to trade at a sharp discount to MSFT. MSFT has a forward earnings multiple of about 33.8.

Earnings per share for Alphabet could rise 16.35% in the coming year.

Alphabet could unveil some major news about its AI commercialization prospects in the year. ahead.

Source: InvestorPlace Research

https://tradesoftheday.com/2023/11/29/t ... y-in-2024/

[behappyalways]

Google Admits Gemini AI Promotional Video Was Fabricated
https://www.zerohedge.com/technology/bl ... e-quackery

[behappyalways]

Google Loses On Every Count In Play Store Antitrust Case With Epic Games
https://www.zerohedge.com/technology/go ... epic-games

[winston]

not vested

Google parent Alphabet ad revenue sputters, capex up; shares sink 6%

Holiday season advertising sales came in below expectations and the company said its spending on data centres to support its artificial intelligence (AI) plans would jump this year.

Ad revenue in the fourth quarter was US$65.5 billion, up from US$59.0 billion in the year ago quarter but short of the average analyst expectation for US$66.1 billion.

Source: Business Times

https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/compan ... res-sink-6

[winston]

not vested

Alphabet shares slid more than 6% in extended trading on Tuesday after the company reported ad revenue that missed analysts’ estimates.

Alphabet reported its fastest quarter for revenue growth since early 2022, with sales climbing 13% from $76.05 billion a year earlier, the company said in a statement.

However, ad revenue of $65.52 billion trailed analyst estimates of $65.94 billion, according to StreetAccount.

YouTube, which has been helping to drive accelerated growth, came in just shy of expectations.

Google Cloud remains a growth engine, with 26% expansion in the fourth quarter compared to a year ago.

Net income jumped 52% in the fourth quarter to $20.7 billion, or $1.64 per share, from $13.6 billion, or $1.05 per share, a year earlier.

Source: Phillips