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rffrydr
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 Posted: Thu Oct 12, 2006 1:29 pm Post subject: GOOG grows up |
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YouTube and new GOOG: The first time a Goog embrace has been met with Jitters:
http://www.forbes.com/entrepreneurs/feeds/ap/2006/10/11/ap3084503.html
Microsoft is supposed to play the heavy. More importantly, first departure from the math-loving self confidence promoting internal growth, small company aquisition for all cash. Now playing the investment bankers, and more shockingly, IT'S OWN STOCK AS CURRENCY.
All lights are green for now.
Last edited by rffrydr on Sun Jul 05, 2009 8:29 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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HenryTo
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| Posted: Fri Jan 20, 2012 4:59 pm Post subject: |
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Morningstar on GOOG's 4Q earnings.
| Quote: | | Google GOOG announced fourth-quarter earnings Thursday against a backdrop of high expectations, with results modestly ahead of our forecast but meaningfully below consensus, resulting in a dramatic sell-off in the shares. We are not changing our fair value estimate and consider the shares to be undervalued, although we would prefer a bigger discount before encouraging new investment. Results were strong across the board, with quarterly revenue from Google properties (primarily including Internet search and YouTube) and revenue from ads placed on partner sites growing 29% and 15% versus 2010, respectively. With total advertising revenue growing 27% versus 2010, we still believe Google is modestly gaining market share in online advertising, a remarkable feat given t he size of this Internet behemoth and a testament to its wide economic moat. Additionally, controlled spending helped improve quarterly operating margins to 33%, ahead of our expectations. Although costs per click (or CPC, the average amount advertisers pay when consumers click on an ad) declined 8% from the prior quarter, we think it is important to look beyond that single metric to paid clicks, which grew 17% versus the third quarter. Google regularly tweaks its advertising algorithms and enhances ad formats to improve the user experience and maximize revenue. According to product vice president Susan Wojcicki, algorithm changes had a positive effect on revenues. In other words, we believe that every search generated higher revenue per search, despite the decline in CPC. The increase in paid clicks is the greatest quarterly gain since the fourth quarter of 2006. Over the course of the next quarter or so, we expect some regulatory overhang and investor angst as Motorola Mob ility MMI is folded into the Google family. Although we do not expect either issue to affect our overall thesis, uncertainty surrounding Google has historically led to volatility in the stock price. Lastly, we have little doubt the Internet search market is maturing, and Google's tweaks to its advertising algorithms can only go so far. Heavy investment by Google in Android (a mobile operating system), Google+ (its social network) and YouTube as well as other initiatives is warranted, in our view. History has not been kind to Internet companies that failed to invest into adjacent markets and exploit key competitive advantages. Many of these initiatives may take several years to generate free cash flow, but we believe management's long-term view will ultimately generate excess returns on capital and strong shareholder returns. |
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rffrydr
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| Posted: Wed Jan 04, 2012 8:37 am Post subject: |
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My favorite tweak to the new Gmail: "Goggles" which makes you complete some simple math before you send out anything after hours--that you may regret!
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HenryTo
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| Posted: Sat Dec 17, 2011 2:11 am Post subject: |
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GOOG reshuffles--as the OC now becomes the L Team.
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SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The most powerful group at Google Inc used to be known simply as "The OC," short for operating committee. Now, it goes by a more telling name: "L Team," short for Larry's Team.
The change is more than a mere rebranding after Google co-founder Larry Page became chief executive nine months ago, reclaiming a title he last held in 2001. Page has moved quickly to remake the company in his image, and this influential group is responsible for plotting strategic priorities, such as social networking and mobile computing.
In the revamping of the group earlier this year, Page swapped out several of the executives who previously had seats at the table and brought in managers spearheading key initiatives.
Among the new members of Page's cabinet are social networking head Vic Gundotra, Android mobile chief Andy Rubin and YouTube head Salar Kamangar, according to people familiar with the matter.
Page meets regularly with the team, which also includes Google's top finance and legal executives and is now internally called the L Team, to discuss, evaluate and approve their plans, from acquisitions to new products.
"All major decisions flow through that group," said one of the people, speaking anonymously because of the confidential nature of the topic.
The new team was appointed around the time that Page took over as CEO and reorganized the company's management structure. In addition to placing directors of key product groups under his direct supervision, and giving those groups more leeway to operate autonomously, Page transformed the operating committee into the L Team, a move not reported until now.
A Google representative declined to comment on the changes Page made to the team. The company also declined to make executives available for interviews.
The revamp is part of Page's efforts to make the world's No. 1 Web search engine more nimble and competitive amid a shifting technology landscape in which Google is increasingly battling heavyweights like Apple Inc and Facebook.
To make room for his new advisers, Page chose to remove some well-known and powerful executives from the inner circle instead of expanding it, according to the sources.
They said the executives who have left the group include Marissa Mayer, the head of Google's local, maps and location services business; Rachel Whetstone, its London-based global communications and public affairs chief; and Shona Brown, who previously oversaw business operations and now heads the company's philanthropic arm.
Mayer's membership within the group was particularly short-lived. The former head of Google's flagship search product and user experience was appointed to the operating committee in October 2010, roughly around the time she was assigned a new job overseeing Google's local business.
But she and other executives Page moved out of his inner circle were not completely sidelined, the sources said. Mayer still has a "huge job," said another person familiar with the matter. Whetsone was promoted to senior vice president in April.
The changes to the group reflect the shifting influence within Google's top ranks, said first source, who added that changes were natural with a new CEO in place.
"I think Larry was thoughtful about how he approached this, and I don't know of too many bruised egos. Some change is expected to happen when the power center shifts," the source said.
Page did retain some members of the original "OC," including finance chief Patrick Pichette, Chief Business Officer Nikesh Arora and Chief Legal Officer David Drummond.
It was unclear if Eric Schmidt, who ended his 10-year stint as CEO to become Google's executive chairman, and co-founder Sergey Brin have formal roles on the L Team.
Schmidt is often traveling as part of his new role, while Brin focuses on advanced research projects that are less directly related to the day-to-day business.
Founded by Page and Brin in 1998, Google has grown into a corporate behemoth, with roughly $29 billion in revenue last year and nearly $43 billion in cash and securities on its balance sheet as of the end of September.
While Google has dominated Internet searching for a decade, the company has struggled to find its footing in social networking, with Facebook, Twitter and other start-ups stealing Web traffic and engineering talent.
Under Page's watch, Google has launched its most ambitious challenge to Facebook's social networking dominance with the Google+ social network.
In August, Google said it would acquire mobile phone company Motorola Mobility Inc for $12.5 billion, a deal that allows Google to add hardware capabilities to its Android smartphone software.
At the same time, Page has pruned the company's sprawling portfolio of products, eliminating projects involving green energy and health among others, even as headcount has swelled to more than 31,000 employees.
"More wood behind fewer arrows" is how Page described his approach, when speaking to analysts on a conference call this summer.
"Focus and prioritization are crucial given our amazing opportunities," he said, noting that Google had substantially increased its "velocity and execution" with its new management structure. |
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rffrydr
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| Posted: Thu Dec 15, 2011 12:49 pm Post subject: |
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"Do No Evil" getting a little dusty: $12m to end slavery as it now lives...too easy!
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HenryTo
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HenryTo
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| Posted: Thu Nov 17, 2011 8:01 pm Post subject: |
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Morningstar on GOOG's foray into music:
| Quote: | | Google GOOG officially launched its music store Wednesday. Google Music is highlighted by two key features: a music download store and a cloud-based digital locker that stores a user's music library for streaming and syncing across numerous devices. Independent musicians can manage a page where they can sell their own music directly to consumers. We see nothing new or disruptive in the Google Music offering, particularly versus a more robust Apple AAPL service that connects iTunes, devices (iPads, iPhones, and iPods), and users' pre-existing libraries of songs, most of which were purchased from Apple. To date, Apple has sold more than 10 billion songs. Still, we believe music can be a key cornerstone in a mobile suite of services. With this very loud and public entry into the music business, we believe Google has stoked the fire of competition versus Amazon AMZN. Google's music store is playing catch-up. Three of the major labels have signed on, although Warner Music Group is notably absent. Still, we expect Google's "launch early, launch often" mantra will extend into Google Music in the way it has into other areas of its business, most recently including its social effort, Google+. The company is supporting sharing of music tracks through its Google+ social network, although we believe including a network with more breadth such as Twitter might provide a much more compelling marketing strategy. While enabling the streaming and syncing of a user's music library may eventually be compelling, building or transferring a music library to Google's cloud service is a natural point of friction (Amazon faces similar challenges). Still, the dominance of iTunes has not seemed to stem the growth of Android smartphone adoption. Being late to the music arena may not matter. Lastly, we note the divergent business strategies employed by Google, Apple, and Amazon. Google is selling content to fortify its mobile and social offerings, both of which are important in selling advertising. Amazon is selling tablets below cost in order to sell more digital content. Apple is supporting a rich application and content ecosystem to sell more high-margin devices. For these three companies, content is important, but viewing music as a stand-alone business is no longer relevant, in our view. Although we believe it's too early to get excited about Google Music, we believe the investment is wise. |
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rffrydr
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rffrydr
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| Posted: Mon Oct 24, 2011 9:40 am Post subject: |
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GOOG finances Yahoo takedown to keep straw man alive....things getting complicated in "do-no-evil" land. 
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HenryTo
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HenryTo
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HenryTo
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| Posted: Fri Oct 14, 2011 11:31 am Post subject: |
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Morningstar on GOOG's 3Q earnings:
| Quote: | | Google GOOG posted a quarter of solid growth in revenue, earnings, and cash flows that were modestly ahead of our expectations. We anticipate making a very slight increase to our fair value estimate. The positives in the third quarter were mostly in line with our thesis. Google's results show that its core business is resilient despite competition from Facebook and Yahoo YHOO. Once again, we believe Facebook's near-term threat to Google's financial results is overblown. Because we believe that Google's economic moat has essentially tied users to the company's services, we look to the growth in paid clicks as a validation that its moat is strong and stable. To that end, Google achieved double-digit growth in paid clicks, with a modest offset in the prices paid for each of those clicks. Google's quarterly revenue growth was an impressive 33% from 2010, well ahead of our estimates for industry growth. Despite another quarter of a double-digit percentage increase in head count, we saw operating margins stabilize at about 31%. With a 9% growth rate in quarterly head count, we are encouraged by the firm's profitability, particularly in light of heavy investment in the mobile Android ecosystem and Google+, the company's recent social initiative. In fact, according to our analysis of operating income per employee, the third quarter represented an uptick after a dramatic decline throughout 2011. The company posted about $97,000 in operating income per employee for the quarter, an 18% improvement from the second quarter. We expec t operating margins to expand going forward. We did not receive any additional clarity regarding the continued competitive assault on the Android ecosystem via battles over intellectual property. We continue to believe there are a large number of players including handset providers and wireless carriers that would like to prevent a world where Apple AAPL is the dominant smartphone provider, and Android will be the best outcome for most of those players. Although we expect continued courtroom battles that will take attention and resources from Google's core business, we think investors should feel encouraged that there are currently more than 190 million Android devices in users' hands. We would also remind investors that Google is not immune to an economic slowdown. Management admitted that the company is seeing some weakness in Western Europe, although other geographies are quite strong. As with the last recession, we would expect Internet search advertising to feel less negative effects than display and other advertising channels, such as print and radio. |
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HenryTo
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| Posted: Fri Aug 19, 2011 11:44 pm Post subject: |
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I'll get myself an ice-cream sandwich, please!
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Google's 'Nexus Prime' with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich allegedly set for October release
Google’s “Nexus Prime” smartphone is said to be set for an October release, according to a report from Korean-language technology publication Electronic Times (via BGR). The Nexus Prime will likely be the first phone to run Google’s upcoming Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) mobile operating system. If the rumors are true, this would put the Nexus Prime in direct competition with the other smartphone powerhouse set for October release, Apple’s iPhone 5.
News of the Nexus Prime’s release coincides with reports from earlier this month, which indicated that Google planned to push release for Ice Cream Sandwich to October for the specific purpose of competing head-to-head with the iPhone 5 and the new iOS 5 platform.
Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS) is said to be not just a simple update from the current version of Android. Instead, ICS is intended to be a multi-device OS, which created a unified user experience across Android tablets, phones and Google TV. This could help solve some of the fragmentation problems that Google has with Android, and is one of the primary weak points in its battle with Apple’s seamless iOS.
According to BGR, the Nexus Prime (also known as the Nexus 4G) will come loaded with a 1.2GHz or 1.5GHz next-generation dual-core processor. Also packed into Nexus Prime will be a 4G LTE radio, 1GB or RAM, a 1-megapixel front-facing camera and a 5 MP rear-facing camera. (The iPhone 5 is said to have an 8 MP rear-facing camera.)
Nexus Prime will also have a massive 4.5-inch screen — big enough that it could almost be considered a small tablet rather than a smartphone — with 1280×720 resolution. And it will have no physical buttons; everything will be based on touch-screen controls.
Of course, all of this is still speculative, as Google has not given official word about the Nexus Prime or the release date for Ice Cream Sandwich. But the rumor does have our hopes up about us having a very eventful October. |
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rffrydr
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HenryTo
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| Posted: Sat Jul 16, 2011 1:30 am Post subject: |
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Morningstar on GOOG's 2Q earnings:
| Quote: | | Google GOOG posted strong second-quarter revenue and earnings growth, driven primarily by continued dominance in what it does best: turning Internet searches into dollars. Quarterly revenue grew 32% versus 2010, an impressive feat given that the firm has only held a steady share in the global search market, which is seeing midteens growth. For Google properties (which includes core search and YouTube), quarterly revenue grew 39% versus 2010, while actual paid clicks grew 18%. From these results, we estimate that Google is improving its ability to convert searchers into users who click on ads. While this conversion speaks to the relevance of Google's advertising, it screams value to the many agencies and brands that are looking for a return on their advertising dollar. Operating margins and free cash flow yields were in line with our estimates. We still expect a modest improvement in operating margins in 2012 as investments in mobile, YouTube, and local commerce begin to generate greater revenue. Even with this investment, Google is generating excess returns on capital and healthy free cash flows. However, we caution investors about the potential for continued volatility around this stock. While we are encouraged by management's patience and long-term focus, the team is not particularly transparent nor interested in smoothing cash flows or providing guidance. We believe this lumpiness helped to provide a very attractive entry point to the stock a couple of weeks ago. Although the discount to our fair value estimate of $720 has narrowed as a result of the recent runup, we believe there is additional upside from here, as the firm's wide economic moat and continued redeployment of free cash flow into high-return projects support our investment thesis. Still, the market can sometimes be myopic, and fear may rear its ugly head and create additional downward pressure on the stock price from time to time. We would encourage investors to focus on the firm's investments in new areas, including mobile and local advertising, and we highlight that the company has the luxury to post high free cash flow yields while supporting these initiatives. |
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HenryTo
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