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Google Roundup: Back to China, YouTube Gains, Waymo Deals
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Alphabet’s (GOOGL - Free Report) Google is building a search app that will be acceptable to the Chinese government, its YouTube platform has become the second most visited website in the world and its Waymo self-driving unit is testing new use cases through a number of partnerships. Here are the details-
Google Going Back to China
A Google insider, concerned about the company’s planned re-entry into China has leaked news to the Intercept, which is saying that Google intends to launch a censored search engine app called Dragonfly targeting the Chinese market within the next 6-9 months.
The market represents 750 million Internet users, so it’s easy to see why Google’s current CEO thinks that’s too much opportunity to leave on the table. But Chinese people by and large prefer local player Baidu (BIDU - Free Report) , especially for Chinese language search.
The company has built on its expertise over the years in the face of weak foreign players, government support and by playing on the nationalistic spirit of the Chinese people. So Google, Microsoft (MSFT - Free Report) , and for a while, Yahoo saw only very limited success in the country.
Google may succeed in capturing a small share at best, but something that could help grow its revenue and perhaps allow synergistic gains in retail through JD.com (JD - Free Report) and in cloud computing through partnerships with companies like Tencent.
China, which has thus far successfully prevented foreign intervention in its internal affairs in the garb of human rights violations through the creation of atrocity literature, is currently in a battle of wills with the U.S. government. Censoring the Internet is an important part of maintaining law and order in the country as well as its national security, so companies that want to do business in China will have to play by the rules. The Chinese government won’t tolerate any pretense to support the truth.
The Republicans under President Trump are calling for measures to contain China’s growing stature, but it’s an uphill battle given America’s dependence on the country and the fact that Xi Jinping isn’t heading for elections any time soon (if at all).
“We provide a number of mobile apps in China, such as Google Translate and Files Go, help Chinese developers, and have made significant investments in Chinese companies like JD.com. But we don’t comment on speculation about future plans,” is all Google would say despite drawing flak from lawmakers, human rights groups and its own employees.
YouTube Second Most Visited Site
According to a new study by market research firm SimilarWeb, YouTube has overtaken Facebook as the second most visited website this year. This is not only the result of YouTube’s own initiatives, but also because of declining popularity of Facebook where page visits have dropped from 8.5 billion to 4.7 billion in the last two years.
Moreover, the growth in Facebook’s app traffic hasn’t been enough to offset the decline in visits to its websites. The most visited websites are now Google (by far the leader), YouTube, Facebook, Yahoo and Amazon AMZN, which surpassed Yahoo during big spending months such as in December 2017 and July 2018. So Amazon is poised to move into the number four position.
Waymo Deals
Alphabet-owned Waymo signed a number of deals recently to test uses for its self-driving technology. Current plans include a ride-hailing service, self-driving trucks for logistics and licensing the technology to automakers selling directly to consumers.
With customers growing jittery following accidents involving self-driving cars (An American Automobile Association survey from April found that 73% of respondents fear riding in a self-driving vehicle, compared with 63% last year), testing its options seems like a wise thing to do. Besides, exploring options was always the plan.
The splashiest deal was with Walmart WMT, which will offer its customers a pick up and drop facility, so they can personally collect their groceries from a nearby Walmart store. It’s an interesting test for Walmart, which also has a variety of other partners taking care of last mile delivery.
Partnering with AutoNation, Avis and others in the Phoenix area, Waymo cars are offering to drop you to nearby businesses.
Also in Phoenix, it has partnered with Valley Metro to transport people to bus stops and train and light-rail stations. The goal for both parties is to study how people use public transit systems and unearth business opportunities.
Partners with News Organizations
Google intends to make data produced by news organizations more easily searchable. The news organizations will present the data they want to be displayed in response to specific queries in a tabular form that the search engine can easily read. Once indexed, it will receive prime placement on the search engine results page. Details about how much Google will make from the deals with 30 data journalists is unknown.
Will You Make a Fortune on the Shift to Electric Cars?
Here's another stock idea to consider. Much like petroleum 150 years ago, lithium power may soon shake the world, creating millionaires and reshaping geo-politics. Soon electric vehicles (EVs) may be cheaper than gas guzzlers. Some are already reaching 265 miles on a single charge.
With battery prices plummeting and charging stations set to multiply, one company stands out as the #1 stock to buy according to Zacks research.
Image: Bigstock
Google Roundup: Back to China, YouTube Gains, Waymo Deals
Alphabet’s (GOOGL - Free Report) Google is building a search app that will be acceptable to the Chinese government, its YouTube platform has become the second most visited website in the world and its Waymo self-driving unit is testing new use cases through a number of partnerships. Here are the details-
Google Going Back to China
A Google insider, concerned about the company’s planned re-entry into China has leaked news to the Intercept, which is saying that Google intends to launch a censored search engine app called Dragonfly targeting the Chinese market within the next 6-9 months.
The market represents 750 million Internet users, so it’s easy to see why Google’s current CEO thinks that’s too much opportunity to leave on the table. But Chinese people by and large prefer local player Baidu (BIDU - Free Report) , especially for Chinese language search.
The company has built on its expertise over the years in the face of weak foreign players, government support and by playing on the nationalistic spirit of the Chinese people. So Google, Microsoft (MSFT - Free Report) , and for a while, Yahoo saw only very limited success in the country.
Google may succeed in capturing a small share at best, but something that could help grow its revenue and perhaps allow synergistic gains in retail through JD.com (JD - Free Report) and in cloud computing through partnerships with companies like Tencent.
China, which has thus far successfully prevented foreign intervention in its internal affairs in the garb of human rights violations through the creation of atrocity literature, is currently in a battle of wills with the U.S. government. Censoring the Internet is an important part of maintaining law and order in the country as well as its national security, so companies that want to do business in China will have to play by the rules. The Chinese government won’t tolerate any pretense to support the truth.
The Republicans under President Trump are calling for measures to contain China’s growing stature, but it’s an uphill battle given America’s dependence on the country and the fact that Xi Jinping isn’t heading for elections any time soon (if at all).
“We provide a number of mobile apps in China, such as Google Translate and Files Go, help Chinese developers, and have made significant investments in Chinese companies like JD.com. But we don’t comment on speculation about future plans,” is all Google would say despite drawing flak from lawmakers, human rights groups and its own employees.
YouTube Second Most Visited Site
According to a new study by market research firm SimilarWeb, YouTube has overtaken Facebook as the second most visited website this year. This is not only the result of YouTube’s own initiatives, but also because of declining popularity of Facebook where page visits have dropped from 8.5 billion to 4.7 billion in the last two years.
Moreover, the growth in Facebook’s app traffic hasn’t been enough to offset the decline in visits to its websites. The most visited websites are now Google (by far the leader), YouTube, Facebook, Yahoo and Amazon AMZN, which surpassed Yahoo during big spending months such as in December 2017 and July 2018. So Amazon is poised to move into the number four position.
Waymo Deals
Alphabet-owned Waymo signed a number of deals recently to test uses for its self-driving technology. Current plans include a ride-hailing service, self-driving trucks for logistics and licensing the technology to automakers selling directly to consumers.
With customers growing jittery following accidents involving self-driving cars (An American Automobile Association survey from April found that 73% of respondents fear riding in a self-driving vehicle, compared with 63% last year), testing its options seems like a wise thing to do. Besides, exploring options was always the plan.
The splashiest deal was with Walmart WMT, which will offer its customers a pick up and drop facility, so they can personally collect their groceries from a nearby Walmart store. It’s an interesting test for Walmart, which also has a variety of other partners taking care of last mile delivery.
Partnering with AutoNation, Avis and others in the Phoenix area, Waymo cars are offering to drop you to nearby businesses.
Also in Phoenix, it has partnered with Valley Metro to transport people to bus stops and train and light-rail stations. The goal for both parties is to study how people use public transit systems and unearth business opportunities.
Partners with News Organizations
Google intends to make data produced by news organizations more easily searchable. The news organizations will present the data they want to be displayed in response to specific queries in a tabular form that the search engine can easily read. Once indexed, it will receive prime placement on the search engine results page. Details about how much Google will make from the deals with 30 data journalists is unknown.
Recommendation
Alphabet shares carry a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Will You Make a Fortune on the Shift to Electric Cars?
Here's another stock idea to consider. Much like petroleum 150 years ago, lithium power may soon shake the world, creating millionaires and reshaping geo-politics. Soon electric vehicles (EVs) may be cheaper than gas guzzlers. Some are already reaching 265 miles on a single charge.
With battery prices plummeting and charging stations set to multiply, one company stands out as the #1 stock to buy according to Zacks research.
It's not the one you think.
See This Ticker Free >>