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Cloud Business Soars as Coronavirus Fuels Work & Learn From Home
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On Apr 28, Alphabet, Inc.’s (GOOGL - Free Report) Google announced its first-quarter results, wherein the company’s cloud sales — which include Google Cloud Platform and G Suite — surged 52% to $2.77 billion from $1.83 billion a year ago. Google Cloud’s growing business in the commercial and public sectors was the only bright spot in an otherwise mixed quarter, as ad revenues across Search and YouTube declined.
Needless to say, Google’s ad revenues suffered due to the coronavirus pandemic. However, the company’s cloud business emerged as a savior as more people are working and learning from home.
The coronavirus outbreak has left the global economy bruised. However, with the world becoming cloud-dependent, companies that have successfully managed to shift data and information to technological and digital platforms are emerging as winners.
Cloud Business Helps Google
Alphabet on Tuesday said that its G Suite collaboration and productivity tools, which include Gmail, Hangout, Calendar, Currents and Docs, have more than six million paying customers. Google Cloud’s annual revenue run rate is now more than $11.08 billion.
This was also the first time that Alphabet shared Google cloud-specific revenues in its earnings results. Google’s cloud business is likely to grow in the coming days as working from remote location explodes, even as many tech companies take a hit. The search engine giant is also expanding its cloud service. In February, Google closed the $2.4 billion acquisition of data analytics company Looker. Google’s shares have increased 11% in the past 30 days.
Coronavirus Fueling Cloud Spending
A number of companies are expecting their cloud usage to exceed plans due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the ninth-annual Flexera 2020 State of the Cloud Report, 59% of the companies expect their cloud usage to be slightly or significantly higher than planned.
Also, per Flexera’s findings, public cloud usage overall continues to grow significantly, with more than half of all enterprise workloads and data expected to be in public clouds within the next 12 months. With the majority of people now either working or learning from home, many tech companies are moving the bulk of their workload to cloud.
On Apr 28, Zoom Video Communications, Inc.’s (ZM - Free Report) Zoom teamed up with Oracle Corporation (ORCL - Free Report) to expand its cloud business. Zoom already uses Amazon, Inc.’s (AMZN - Free Report) Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Corporation’s (MSFT - Free Report) Microsoft Azure. Oracle has also been ramping up free online learning and certification courses amid this lockdown. Oracle has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). The company’s expected earnings growth rate for the current year is 9.7% and its shares have gained 6.8% in the past month.
Other tech companies too have been aggressively expanding their cloud services, given that the coronavirus pandemic is far from over and many governments are still hesitant to lift lockdown or ease stay-at-home orders. On Apr 28, AWS announced the opening of AWS Europe (Milan) Region. Amazon carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). The company’s expected earnings growth rate for the current year is 21.6% and its shares have gained 21.8% over the past 30 days.
The same day, Microsoft said that it is working with a diverse group of global customers and organizations, as remote work, distance learning, real-time insights, and analytics have become the new normal following the COVID-19 outbreak. The company also recently announced the Dynamics 365 Healthcare Accelerator Patient Scheduling and Screening Template, a tool designed to help healthcare organizations address large volumes of patient requests with higher efficiency. Microsoft has a Zacks Rank #3. The company’s expected earnings growth rate for the current year is 16.8% and its shares have jumped 13.4% in the past one month.
Also, Alibaba Group Holdings Ltd (BABA - Free Report) recently announced that it will further invest approximately $28 billion over the next three years on its cloud infrastructure, focusing on technologies including operating system, servers, chips and network. The company’s expected earnings growth rate for the current year is 28% and its shares have gained 6.7% over the last 30 days. Alibaba carries a Zacks Rank #2. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
International Business Machines Corporation (IBM - Free Report) too has been focusing more on its cloud business. IBM, which last year acquired open-source powerhouse Red Hat for a record $34 billion, last week said that the shift to hybrid cloud and AI is being accelerated by the pandemic. IBM has a Zacks Rank #3. The company’s shares have gained 17% in the past 30 days.
It is quite likely that consumer-oriented companies with a strong online presence built on the cloud will witness more demand in products and services in the near term.
Zacks Top 10 Stocks for 2020
In addition to the stocks discussed above, would you like to know about our 10 finest buy-and-hold tickers for the entirety of 2020?
Last year's 2019 Zacks Top 10 Stocks portfolio returned gains as high as +102.7%. Now a brand-new portfolio has been handpicked from over 4,000 companies covered by the Zacks Rank. Don’t miss your chance to get in on these long-term buys.
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Cloud Business Soars as Coronavirus Fuels Work & Learn From Home
On Apr 28, Alphabet, Inc.’s (GOOGL - Free Report) Google announced its first-quarter results, wherein the company’s cloud sales — which include Google Cloud Platform and G Suite — surged 52% to $2.77 billion from $1.83 billion a year ago. Google Cloud’s growing business in the commercial and public sectors was the only bright spot in an otherwise mixed quarter, as ad revenues across Search and YouTube declined.
Needless to say, Google’s ad revenues suffered due to the coronavirus pandemic. However, the company’s cloud business emerged as a savior as more people are working and learning from home.
The coronavirus outbreak has left the global economy bruised. However, with the world becoming cloud-dependent, companies that have successfully managed to shift data and information to technological and digital platforms are emerging as winners.
Cloud Business Helps Google
Alphabet on Tuesday said that its G Suite collaboration and productivity tools, which include Gmail, Hangout, Calendar, Currents and Docs, have more than six million paying customers. Google Cloud’s annual revenue run rate is now more than $11.08 billion.
This was also the first time that Alphabet shared Google cloud-specific revenues in its earnings results. Google’s cloud business is likely to grow in the coming days as working from remote location explodes, even as many tech companies take a hit. The search engine giant is also expanding its cloud service. In February, Google closed the $2.4 billion acquisition of data analytics company Looker. Google’s shares have increased 11% in the past 30 days.
Coronavirus Fueling Cloud Spending
A number of companies are expecting their cloud usage to exceed plans due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the ninth-annual Flexera 2020 State of the Cloud Report, 59% of the companies expect their cloud usage to be slightly or significantly higher than planned.
Also, per Flexera’s findings, public cloud usage overall continues to grow significantly, with more than half of all enterprise workloads and data expected to be in public clouds within the next 12 months. With the majority of people now either working or learning from home, many tech companies are moving the bulk of their workload to cloud.
On Apr 28, Zoom Video Communications, Inc.’s (ZM - Free Report) Zoom teamed up with Oracle Corporation (ORCL - Free Report) to expand its cloud business. Zoom already uses Amazon, Inc.’s (AMZN - Free Report) Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Corporation’s (MSFT - Free Report) Microsoft Azure. Oracle has also been ramping up free online learning and certification courses amid this lockdown. Oracle has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). The company’s expected earnings growth rate for the current year is 9.7% and its shares have gained 6.8% in the past month.
Other tech companies too have been aggressively expanding their cloud services, given that the coronavirus pandemic is far from over and many governments are still hesitant to lift lockdown or ease stay-at-home orders. On Apr 28, AWS announced the opening of AWS Europe (Milan) Region. Amazon carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). The company’s expected earnings growth rate for the current year is 21.6% and its shares have gained 21.8% over the past 30 days.
The same day, Microsoft said that it is working with a diverse group of global customers and organizations, as remote work, distance learning, real-time insights, and analytics have become the new normal following the COVID-19 outbreak. The company also recently announced the Dynamics 365 Healthcare Accelerator Patient Scheduling and Screening Template, a tool designed to help healthcare organizations address large volumes of patient requests with higher efficiency. Microsoft has a Zacks Rank #3. The company’s expected earnings growth rate for the current year is 16.8% and its shares have jumped 13.4% in the past one month.
Also, Alibaba Group Holdings Ltd (BABA - Free Report) recently announced that it will further invest approximately $28 billion over the next three years on its cloud infrastructure, focusing on technologies including operating system, servers, chips and network. The company’s expected earnings growth rate for the current year is 28% and its shares have gained 6.7% over the last 30 days. Alibaba carries a Zacks Rank #2. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
International Business Machines Corporation (IBM - Free Report) too has been focusing more on its cloud business. IBM, which last year acquired open-source powerhouse Red Hat for a record $34 billion, last week said that the shift to hybrid cloud and AI is being accelerated by the pandemic. IBM has a Zacks Rank #3. The company’s shares have gained 17% in the past 30 days.
It is quite likely that consumer-oriented companies with a strong online presence built on the cloud will witness more demand in products and services in the near term.
Zacks Top 10 Stocks for 2020
In addition to the stocks discussed above, would you like to know about our 10 finest buy-and-hold tickers for the entirety of 2020?
Last year's 2019 Zacks Top 10 Stocks portfolio returned gains as high as +102.7%. Now a brand-new portfolio has been handpicked from over 4,000 companies covered by the Zacks Rank. Don’t miss your chance to get in on these long-term buys.
Access Zacks Top 10 Stocks for 2020 today >>