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Alphabet (GOOGL - Free Report) has joined ResMed to form a startup focused on sleep apnea, partnered with Shopify to deliver better ad tools, integrated peer-to-peer payments into Google Pay all while being fined $5 billion by the EU. These and other stories are discussed below-
Startup to Tackle Sleep Apnea
Alphabet’s Verily has agreed to apply its analytics tools to the millions of nights of sleep data collected by ResMed, which makes remote monitoring devices and software for sleep apnea patients. They will be doing this through a newly spun out startup with the goal of identifying real world cases of sleep apnea and matching that with evidence of treatment benefits to convince users that the condition should not be ignored.
There’s been a fair amount of conversation about the correlation of sleep apnea to serious illnesses such as heart failure, but this endeavor can shed more light about the truthfulness of such claims, as well as claims related to treatment benefits.
Dealing with minor conditions to avoid more serious outcomes is an important goal of preventive healthcare. Prevention can reduce suffering and also lower treatment cost, which is prohibitively high in most cases. So the impact on cost is another important aspect that will be studied.
Ultimately, this will help sell more sleep apnea instruments, which will be the payoff for the two companies.
Research and Markets estimates that the healthcare analytics market will grow at a CAGR of 25.5% between 2018 and 2023 to touch $33.8 billion by 2023. Google’s success stories in cases like this and its relatively low requirement to show profit quickly will pave the way for more such deals.
Google, Shopify Team Up
Shopify (SHOP - Free Report) is partnering with Google, so retailers and brands on the platform can access Google ads and placements (whether through search or on Maps or YouTube) directly on the Shopify platform.
Google’s new tools will facilitate better ad management by eliminating the need to track each ad campaign on each Google service and improve the keyword relevance of ads, thus driving both click-throughs and foot traffic to stores.
As Amazon (AMZN - Free Report) continues to grow in online retail and also eats into Google’s advertising business, this kind of deal is increasingly a win-win for retailers and Google, which is probably why Target (TGT - Free Report) , Home Depot (HD - Free Report) , Carrefour and others are signing up.
Peer-to-Peer Payments Service
Google Pay, which is synced with the user’s Google Account to facilitate payment information updating so it can be used in a broad range of situations including on desktops, phones, iOS devices, in stores, with Assistant or while on the move, just got a new frill. The company has announced the integration of Google Pay Send, its peer-to-peer payments platform, into Google Pay, to make it a one stop shop for all payments requirements.
Other features added include support for travel, movies and concert tickets that will be saved along with loyalty cards, gift cards and offers on the Android app's new Passes tab. After the initial launch in the U.S., it will also be introduced in the UK. Google Pay Send will cease to exist. This should help it compete with Apple’s (AAPL - Free Report) Apple Pay and PayPal’s (PYPL - Free Report) Venmo.
EU Fines Google Over Android
Google is looking at a 4.34 billion euro ($5 billion) fine for anticompetitive behavior in the EU. Its alleged wrongdoing constitutes the leveraging of Android to unfairly promote its own search service with the compulsory pre-installation of its app bundle, exclusion of rival search and browser apps from pre-installation (it stopped excluding rival search in 2014), and assuring that its hardware partners don’t make phones using Android forks.
It will also have to pay up to 5% of average daily global revenue for non-compliance after the expiry of 90 days. During this time, it can either stop the three malpractices or request delayed implementation while it appeals. Google said it would appeal although it will transfer the amount of the fine to a separate account and provide for it from its $100 billion+ cash reserves.
Lisbon-based app store developer Aptoide, laying claim to 6 million monthly active users and more than 50 million downloads per month, has filed an antitrust complaint against Alphabet’s Google for using a malware protection tool to make it more difficult for Android users to download or use its app store.
Aptoide’s complaint covers four aspects of Google’s behavior: encouraging download and installation of third-party software only from the Play Store; withdrawal of support from the Android Open Source Project while bundling its important apps under the Google Mobile Services package; removal of other app stores, or apps with references to other app stores, from Google Play; and Google tools like its Chrome browser blocking third-party app stores.
It wants to be allowed inside the Play Store and classified as “trusted sources.” High hopes.
Republicans Questioning on Privacy
The chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee, Greg Walden, along with three other senior Republicans on the panel, have sent letters to Google and Apple, asking details about the way user information is shared with third parties from iPhone and Android devices.
The probe is based on reports that third party developers were able to read Gmail messages using Google’s API and plug-in, they were able to pick up other audible information about users when Google Assistant or Siri were listening for the trigger phrases “OK Google” and “Hey Siri” without disclosure and in Google’s case, also that Google continued to track users even after they disabled location services.
The companies have to respond by today.
FCC Utility Pole Policy Can Benefit Fiber
The One Touch Make Ready (OTMR) arrangement is getting closer to reality with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) likely to pass the proposal. If passed, companies, including local broadband providers will be able to move existing lines and install their own equipment in utility poles. The current rules require them to inform the incumbent telecom to make the move and wait until it’s done.
The case went to the FCC after a federal court in November ruled that OTMR wouldn’t work for poles owned by the Nashville Electric Service and AT&T (T - Free Report) because jurisdiction over pole policies belongs to the FCC and not the Nashville Metro Council.
OTMR will speed up deployment of high-speed Internet to smart cities and places that don’t have it yet.
Zacks has just released a Special Report on the booming investment opportunities of legal marijuana.
Ignited by new referendums and legislation, this industry is expected to blast from an already robust $6.7 billion to $20.2 billion in 2021. Early investors stand to make a killing, but you have to be ready to act and know just where to look.
Image: Bigstock
Alphabet Roundup: Healthcare, Shopify, Payments, Regulatory
Alphabet (GOOGL - Free Report) has joined ResMed to form a startup focused on sleep apnea, partnered with Shopify to deliver better ad tools, integrated peer-to-peer payments into Google Pay all while being fined $5 billion by the EU. These and other stories are discussed below-
Startup to Tackle Sleep Apnea
Alphabet’s Verily has agreed to apply its analytics tools to the millions of nights of sleep data collected by ResMed, which makes remote monitoring devices and software for sleep apnea patients. They will be doing this through a newly spun out startup with the goal of identifying real world cases of sleep apnea and matching that with evidence of treatment benefits to convince users that the condition should not be ignored.
There’s been a fair amount of conversation about the correlation of sleep apnea to serious illnesses such as heart failure, but this endeavor can shed more light about the truthfulness of such claims, as well as claims related to treatment benefits.
Dealing with minor conditions to avoid more serious outcomes is an important goal of preventive healthcare. Prevention can reduce suffering and also lower treatment cost, which is prohibitively high in most cases. So the impact on cost is another important aspect that will be studied.
Ultimately, this will help sell more sleep apnea instruments, which will be the payoff for the two companies.
Research and Markets estimates that the healthcare analytics market will grow at a CAGR of 25.5% between 2018 and 2023 to touch $33.8 billion by 2023. Google’s success stories in cases like this and its relatively low requirement to show profit quickly will pave the way for more such deals.
Google, Shopify Team Up
Shopify (SHOP - Free Report) is partnering with Google, so retailers and brands on the platform can access Google ads and placements (whether through search or on Maps or YouTube) directly on the Shopify platform.
Google’s new tools will facilitate better ad management by eliminating the need to track each ad campaign on each Google service and improve the keyword relevance of ads, thus driving both click-throughs and foot traffic to stores.
As Amazon (AMZN - Free Report) continues to grow in online retail and also eats into Google’s advertising business, this kind of deal is increasingly a win-win for retailers and Google, which is probably why Target (TGT - Free Report) , Home Depot (HD - Free Report) , Carrefour and others are signing up.
Peer-to-Peer Payments Service
Google Pay, which is synced with the user’s Google Account to facilitate payment information updating so it can be used in a broad range of situations including on desktops, phones, iOS devices, in stores, with Assistant or while on the move, just got a new frill. The company has announced the integration of Google Pay Send, its peer-to-peer payments platform, into Google Pay, to make it a one stop shop for all payments requirements.
Other features added include support for travel, movies and concert tickets that will be saved along with loyalty cards, gift cards and offers on the Android app's new Passes tab. After the initial launch in the U.S., it will also be introduced in the UK. Google Pay Send will cease to exist. This should help it compete with Apple’s (AAPL - Free Report) Apple Pay and PayPal’s (PYPL - Free Report) Venmo.
EU Fines Google Over Android
Google is looking at a 4.34 billion euro ($5 billion) fine for anticompetitive behavior in the EU. Its alleged wrongdoing constitutes the leveraging of Android to unfairly promote its own search service with the compulsory pre-installation of its app bundle, exclusion of rival search and browser apps from pre-installation (it stopped excluding rival search in 2014), and assuring that its hardware partners don’t make phones using Android forks.
It will also have to pay up to 5% of average daily global revenue for non-compliance after the expiry of 90 days. During this time, it can either stop the three malpractices or request delayed implementation while it appeals. Google said it would appeal although it will transfer the amount of the fine to a separate account and provide for it from its $100 billion+ cash reserves.
Read more: Google To Take EU Ruling In Stride
Aptoide Files Antitrust Complaint in EU
Lisbon-based app store developer Aptoide, laying claim to 6 million monthly active users and more than 50 million downloads per month, has filed an antitrust complaint against Alphabet’s Google for using a malware protection tool to make it more difficult for Android users to download or use its app store.
Aptoide’s complaint covers four aspects of Google’s behavior: encouraging download and installation of third-party software only from the Play Store; withdrawal of support from the Android Open Source Project while bundling its important apps under the Google Mobile Services package; removal of other app stores, or apps with references to other app stores, from Google Play; and Google tools like its Chrome browser blocking third-party app stores.
It wants to be allowed inside the Play Store and classified as “trusted sources.” High hopes.
Republicans Questioning on Privacy
The chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee, Greg Walden, along with three other senior Republicans on the panel, have sent letters to Google and Apple, asking details about the way user information is shared with third parties from iPhone and Android devices.
The probe is based on reports that third party developers were able to read Gmail messages using Google’s API and plug-in, they were able to pick up other audible information about users when Google Assistant or Siri were listening for the trigger phrases “OK Google” and “Hey Siri” without disclosure and in Google’s case, also that Google continued to track users even after they disabled location services.
The companies have to respond by today.
FCC Utility Pole Policy Can Benefit Fiber
The One Touch Make Ready (OTMR) arrangement is getting closer to reality with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) likely to pass the proposal. If passed, companies, including local broadband providers will be able to move existing lines and install their own equipment in utility poles. The current rules require them to inform the incumbent telecom to make the move and wait until it’s done.
The case went to the FCC after a federal court in November ruled that OTMR wouldn’t work for poles owned by the Nashville Electric Service and AT&T (T - Free Report) because jurisdiction over pole policies belongs to the FCC and not the Nashville Metro Council.
OTMR will speed up deployment of high-speed Internet to smart cities and places that don’t have it yet.
Recommendation
Alphabet shares carry a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell). For buy-ranked stocks, see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
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Zacks has just released a Special Report on the booming investment opportunities of legal marijuana.
Ignited by new referendums and legislation, this industry is expected to blast from an already robust $6.7 billion to $20.2 billion in 2021. Early investors stand to make a killing, but you have to be ready to act and know just where to look.
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