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Yesterday I wrote that Google will launch a competitor to Microsoft's ChatGPT in the coming months. It turns out that the launch date is now. Google's version is called 'Bard', and is only accessible to a select few trusted users, while it does some more testing. The plan is to release it to the public in the next few weeks.
On Thursday evening Alphabet (also known as Google) reported their latest quarterly numbers. Unfortunately, the company missed top and bottom line expectations, and the stock dropped by 3% on Friday. It's worth noting that Alphabet was up 7% on Thursday, so the share price still gained over the week.
On Tuesday the US justice department sued Google, alleging that the company has a monopoly over the digital advertising market. In reality, they are probably correct, as the FT points out with this image below, Google dominates almost the entire value chain of the industry.
Back in May, I described Google as a money-making, near-monopoly that is the gateway to the Internet, and you're nuts if you don't own their shares.
Google announced that as part of a $1 billion Africa investment plan, they will set up a cloud services business called Google Cloud Africa. The infrastructure will be based here in Mzansi. It will give users, developers, businesses and educational institutions across Africa, more information and tools online.
YouTube announced plans to insert adverts on Shorts, its service which aims to compete with TikTok. The streaming giant said that ad sales will be shared with creators of the bite-sized videos. Chief Product Officer Neal Mohan said, "We want YouTube to be the place that gives creators the greatest support in the digital landscape."
A few days ago Paul wrote about a time, some years ago, when the market underappreciated Apple. Then it enjoyed a massive rerating, and a lot of shareholders made good money. I feel like Alphabet (parent of Google and YouTube) is in the midst of a similar phase, oddly unloved.
Google's parent company, Alphabet, reported a second-quarter top line that met analysts' expectations, showing how resilient the internet giant's business model is amid all the macroeconomic pressures that are weighing on the digital ads market. The shares rose as much as 5.7% in after-hours trading before cooling off to 4.9%.
Like Amazon last month, Alphabet (parent of Google) has done a stock split. This will reflect in your portfolio as of 18 July. The ratio is also 20-for-1. For every one share you owned, you now own 20 Alphabet shares. The value of your shares is divided by 20, so there is absolutely no change in the value of your holding.
The UK antitrust watchdog is investigating Google on suspicions that it may be abusing its dominant position in online advertising. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is concerned that Google may be favouring its own ad exchange services, while taking active steps to exclude the services offered by rivals.
There are a lot of things one can say about Google, the company. Here's one: they had results out recently and it's my job to tell you about the numbers. Here's another: Google is a money-making, near-monopoly that is the gateway to the Internet, and you're nuts if you don't own their shares.
Google announced that it would let Spotify use its own billing system for users who subscribe to the music-streaming service through the Google Play Store. This means Spotify doesn't have to pay the hefty 15% levy as Google slowly opens up its app store, and is a step in the right direction in order to appease angry regulators. As a Spotify shareholder, I approve!
Alphabet (Google) announced that it has reached a deal to buy a cyber security company called Mandiant for around $5.4 billion. The deal will bolster their cloud business with increased cybersecurity offerings at a time when companies are experiencing waves of attacks on their systems. This deal is the second-largest in history for Alphabet after the Motorola Mobility deal which cost the company a cool $12.5 billion.
Google's parent Alphabet had results out on Tuesday night that were very, very good. That sent shares up to a new all-time high in trading on Wednesday, above $3 000 per share. They closed up 7.5% on the day.
Alphabet (Google) announced that it will invest about $700 million to buy 1.28% of Bharti Airtel. An additional $300 million will be available to grow the company's infrastructure over the next five years.