Latest news with #GOOGL
Business Insider
9 hours ago
- Business
- Business Insider
New Data Shows that ChatGPT Is Impacting Google's (GOOGL) Search Dominance
New data shows that OpenAI's ChatGPT may slowly be taking users away from Google Search. Indeed, at Coatue Management's recent East Meets West conference, the investment firm shared stats from SimilarWeb (SMWB) showing that two years after people start using ChatGPT, they do about 8% fewer Google searches each month. It is worth noting that Alphabet (GOOGL), the parent company of Google, has already admitted that ChatGPT is a real threat. Confident Investing Starts Here: Easily unpack a company's performance with TipRanks' new KPI Data for smart investment decisions Receive undervalued, market resilient stocks right to your inbox with TipRanks' Smart Value Newsletter In fact, in an antitrust hearing this April, Sissie Hsiao—the former head of Google's Gemini chatbot—said that ChatGPT has already replaced some search queries, especially for homework and math help. While those types of searches don't bring in much advertising money, Hsiao's testimony suggested that the growing popularity of AI tools could lead to larger, long-term threats. As a result, Google's ad chief, Vidhya Srinivasan, said that losing commercial searches—the kind tied to shopping and ads—is not just a risk, but something that is 'inevitable.' The latest data suggests that this shift is already starting to happen. And that is a big deal because most of Google's revenue comes from ads on its search platform. Meanwhile, OpenAI, which is backed by Microsoft (MSFT), continues to improve ChatGPT and make it even easier to use, which could pull even more users away from Google over time. Is Google Stock a Good Buy? Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Strong Buy consensus rating on GOOGL stock based on 29 Buys and nine Holds assigned in the past three months. Furthermore, the average GOOGL price target of $199.11 per share implies 14.88% upside potential from current levels.
Business Insider
11 hours ago
- Business
- Business Insider
Google (GOOGL) Is Training AI on YouTube Videos, and Creators Didn't Even Know
Tech giant Google (GOOGL) is using part of its huge library of YouTube videos (around 20 billion in total) to train AI models like Gemini and Veo 3, according to CNBC. Although the company says it only uses a portion of the videos and follows agreements with creators and media companies, this still means that billions of minutes of content are used for training. Unsurprisingly, YouTube says that it has always used content to improve its products and now has protections to help creators control how their image is used in the age of AI. However, creators can't stop Google from using their videos for its own AI models, and many weren't aware this was happening. Confident Investing Starts Here: As a result, some experts and creators are worried. Indeed, tools like Trace ID from a company called Vermillio, which is used to detect overlaps between AI-generated videos and original ones, have found that Veo 3 has created videos very similar to existing YouTube content. One example showed a Veo 3 video closely matched a video from creator Brodie Moss, with a score of 71 for the video and over 90 for just the audio. While some creators welcome the competition, others feel their work is being used unfairly, without credit, consent, or payment. This news comes at a time when the entertainment world is pushing back, as Disney (DIS) and Universal (CMCSA) recently filed a lawsuit against AI company Midjourney for copyright issues. Google, meanwhile, says it will take legal responsibility if users face copyright complaints over content created with Veo 3. YouTube has also partnered with the Creative Artists Agency to help top talent manage how their image is used in AI. But some say YouTube's tools aren't reliable. In fact, U.S. lawmakers, like Senator Josh Hawley, argue that stronger rights are needed to protect people's images and creations as AI advances. Is Google Stock a Good Buy? Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Strong Buy consensus rating on GOOGL stock based on 29 Buys and nine Holds assigned in the past three months. Furthermore, the average GOOGL price target of $199.11 per share implies 14.88% upside potential from current levels.
Globe and Mail
19 hours ago
- Business
- Globe and Mail
Meta Platforms vs. Alphabet: Which Digital Ad Behemoth Has an Edge?
Meta Platforms META and Alphabet GOOGL are behemoths of the digital advertising market, generating billions of dollars in revenues. In the first quarter of 2025, Meta Platforms' advertising revenues increased 16.2% year over year to $42.3 billion, driven by a 5% increase in ad impressions and a 10% increase in average ad price. Meanwhile, Alphabet reported revenues of $66.9 billion, up 8.5% year over year, driven by 9.8% growth in Search revenues and 10.3% growth in YouTube ad revenues. According to eMarketer's latest projection, Meta Platforms and Alphabet are expected to hit revenues of $209.15 billion (Facebook $116.53 billion and Instagram $67.27 billion) and $183.8 billion (Google $189.74 billion and YouTube $19.42 billion), respectively. Higher tariffs are expected to hurt digital ad spending, which is expected to increase at least 1.5% year over year in 2025. Per the latest dentsu Global Ad Spend Forecasts report, global ad spending is expected to grow 4.9% in 2025 to hit $992 billion, while digital ad spend is anticipated to grow 7.9% to $678.7 billion. This bodes well for both Alphabet and Meta Platforms. However, macroeconomic challenges, including tariffs and increasing regulatory headwinds, are a concern for both. Meta Platforms shares have outperformed Alphabet year to date. While META shares have appreciated 18.8%, Alphabet has dropped 8.5%. META and GOOGL Stock's Performance So, META or GOOGL, which has an edge now? The Case for Meta Platforms Stock Meta Platforms' focus on improving advertisers' return on ad spending has been a key catalyst. Its proprietary machine learning system, Andromeda, for retrieval in ad recommendation is powered by NVIDIA. AI is helping META become better at targeting and finding the right audience for advertisers. The launch of the new Generative Ads Recommendation model for ads ranking that is being used in Facebook Reels has increased conversion rates by 5%. Meta Platforms also saw 30% more advertisers using AI creative tools. Improvements in META's recommendation system have led to a 7% increase in time spent on Facebook, a 6% increase on Instagram, and a 35% increase on Threads over the past six months. Meta Platforms' focus on integrating AI into its platforms — Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger and Threads — is driving user engagement to boost ad revenues. AI is heavily dependent on data, of which META has a trove, driven by its more than 3.43 billion daily users. Meta AI usage continues to increase, with roughly one billion monthly users globally. The company's initiative to add updates that will help Meta AI deliver more personalized and relevant responses is expected to boost engagement. These factors are expected to drive Meta Platforms' top-line growth. Our model expects META's revenues to grow 11.9% year over year in 2025, with advertising revenues (97.6% of revenues) projected to increase 11.8% year over year. The Case for Alphabet Stock Alphabet has been taking up initiatives to improve its market share in Search through AI innovations. The addition of AI mode expands AI Overview's advanced reasoning, thinking and multimodal capabilities. AI Overviews is driving a more than 10% increase in usage of Google for queries that support AI Overviews in Google's biggest markets, like India and the United States. AI Overview is currently used by more than 1.5 billion people monthly. AI mode is now available in the United States. Circle to Search has been another key catalyst driving user engagement. At the end of the first quarter of 2025, Circle to Search was available on 250 million devices, with usage increasing roughly 40% during the quarter. These factors are expected to drive Alphabet's top-line growth. Our model expects Alphabet's Google Advertising revenues to increase 6.6% year over year to $282.05 billion, with Search & other growing 8.2% and YouTube Ads growth of 5%. However, regulatory headwinds like the lawsuit between the Department of Justice (DOJ) and GOOGL over Google Search are a concern. The DOJ argues that Google has inked anticompetitive deals with Apple and other companies for prime placement of its search engine and plans to break up Google to separate products like Chrome, Search, and Android. DOJ's proposal doesn't bode well for Alphabet, given growing competition from AI-powered products like ChatGPT, Grok, DeepSeek, Perplexity and Meta AI. META's Earnings Estimate Revisions Positive, GOOGL's Steady The Zacks Consensus Estimate for META's 2025 earnings is pegged at $25.25 per share, up by 7 cents over the past 30 days, indicating a 5.83% increase over fiscal 2024's reported figure. The consensus mark for Alphabet's 2025 earnings has been steady at $9.51 per share over the past 30 days, suggesting 18.28% growth over 2024. Both META's and GOOGL's earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in all the trailing four quarters. Meta Platforms' average surprise of 17.3% is better than Alphabet's surprise of 14.64%, reflecting a good quality of earnings beat on a consistent basis. Valuation: GOOGL is Cheaper Than META Both Meta Platforms and Microsoft are overvalued, as suggested by the Value Score of D and C, respectively. In terms of forward 12-month Price/Sales, Meta Platforms shares are trading at 8.89X, higher than Alphabet's 6.13X. GOOGL and META Valuation Conclusion Both Alphabet and Meta Platforms are expected to benefit from strong digital ad spending despite tariff headwinds. However, Alphabet's growing regulatory concerns, including a probability of a break-up of the company, make the GOOGL stock risky. META's initiatives to boost top-line with plans to add ads in WhatsApp are a key catalyst. Although both Alphabet and Meta Platforms currently carry a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) each, we believe META has a slight edge over GOOGL in the near term. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Only $1 to See All Zacks' Buys and Sells We're not kidding. Several years ago, we shocked our members by offering them 30-day access to all our picks for the total sum of only $1. No obligation to spend another cent. Thousands have taken advantage of this opportunity. Thousands did not - they thought there must be a catch. Yes, we do have a reason. We want you to get acquainted with our portfolio services like Surprise Trader, Stocks Under $10, Technology Innovators, and more, that closed 256 positions with double- and triple-digit gains in 2024 alone. See Stocks Now >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL): Free Stock Analysis Report Meta Platforms, Inc. (META): Free Stock Analysis Report
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Alphabet (GOOGL) Is Considered a Good Investment by Brokers: Is That True?
Investors often turn to recommendations made by Wall Street analysts before making a Buy, Sell, or Hold decision about a stock. While media reports about rating changes by these brokerage-firm employed (or sell-side) analysts often affect a stock's price, do they really matter? Let's take a look at what these Wall Street heavyweights have to say about Alphabet (GOOGL) before we discuss the reliability of brokerage recommendations and how to use them to your advantage. Alphabet currently has an average brokerage recommendation (ABR) of 1.38, on a scale of 1 to 5 (Strong Buy to Strong Sell), calculated based on the actual recommendations (Buy, Hold, Sell, etc.) made by 52 brokerage firms. An ABR of 1.38 approximates between Strong Buy and Buy. Of the 52 recommendations that derive the current ABR, 40 are Strong Buy and four are Buy. Strong Buy and Buy respectively account for 76.9% and 7.7% of all recommendations. Check price target & stock forecast for Alphabet here>>> While the ABR calls for buying Alphabet, it may not be wise to make an investment decision solely based on this information. Several studies have shown limited to no success of brokerage recommendations in guiding investors to pick stocks with the best price increase potential. Are you wondering why? The vested interest of brokerage firms in a stock they cover often results in a strong positive bias of their analysts in rating it. Our research shows that for every "Strong Sell" recommendation, brokerage firms assign five "Strong Buy" recommendations. This means that the interests of these institutions are not always aligned with those of retail investors, giving little insight into the direction of a stock's future price movement. It would therefore be best to use this information to validate your own analysis or a tool that has proven to be highly effective at predicting stock price movements. With an impressive externally audited track record, our proprietary stock rating tool, the Zacks Rank, which classifies stocks into five groups, ranging from Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) to Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell), is a reliable indicator of a stock's near-term price performance. So, validating the Zacks Rank with ABR could go a long way in making a profitable investment decision. In spite of the fact that Zacks Rank and ABR both appear on a scale from 1 to 5, they are two completely different measures. The ABR is calculated solely based on brokerage recommendations and is typically displayed with decimals (example: 1.28). In contrast, the Zacks Rank is a quantitative model allowing investors to harness the power of earnings estimate revisions. It is displayed in whole numbers -- 1 to 5. Analysts employed by brokerage firms have been and continue to be overly optimistic with their recommendations. Since the ratings issued by these analysts are more favorable than their research would support because of the vested interest of their employers, they mislead investors far more often than they guide. In contrast, the Zacks Rank is driven by earnings estimate revisions. And near-term stock price movements are strongly correlated with trends in earnings estimate revisions, according to empirical research. In addition, the different Zacks Rank grades are applied proportionately to all stocks for which brokerage analysts provide current-year earnings estimates. In other words, this tool always maintains a balance among its five ranks. There is also a key difference between the ABR and Zacks Rank when it comes to freshness. When you look at the ABR, it may not be up-to-date. Nonetheless, since brokerage analysts constantly revise their earnings estimates to reflect changing business trends, and their actions get reflected in the Zacks Rank quickly enough, it is always timely in predicting future stock prices. Looking at the earnings estimate revisions for Alphabet, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year has remained unchanged over the past month at $9.51. Analysts' steady views regarding the company's earnings prospects, as indicated by an unchanged consensus estimate, could be a legitimate reason for the stock to perform in line with the broader market in the near term. The size of the recent change in the consensus estimate, along with three other factors related to earnings estimates, has resulted in a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) for Alphabet. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here >>>> It may therefore be prudent to be a little cautious with the Buy-equivalent ABR for Alphabet. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research ( Zacks Investment Research Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
a day ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Is SoundHound Ready to Challenge Big Tech in Automotive AI?
SoundHound AI SOUN is increasingly positioning itself as a real contender in the automotive AI space, traditionally dominated by tech giants. In the first quarter of 2025, the company reported revenue of $29.1 million, up 151% year over year, driven by rapid expansion in its restaurant and automotive voice AI solutions. Its proprietary Polaris platform is central to this growth, offering faster and more accurate voice recognition across multiple languages, which is key for noisy environments like car interiors.A key highlight is SoundHound's push into voice commerce. By enabling drivers to order food, book parking, or make reservations hands-free, SoundHound is expanding its in-car offerings beyond simple commands, and automakers are noticing. Several OEMs, including Tencent's mobility unit, are testing SoundHound's conversational AI as an alternative to big tech over 13,000 restaurant locations already using its system and multiple large OEM pilots underway, SoundHound is building a large and scalable voice ecosystem. The launch of Amelia 7.0, a platform of agentic AI voice assistants, further enhances its edge by letting AI agents perform complex tasks autonomously and a slight miss on revenue expectations and ongoing margin pressure due to recent acquisitions, the company reiterated its full-year guidance of $157–$177 million and aims for profitability by year-end. SoundHound's ability to innovate, execute, and scale across industries suggests it may be more than just a niche player—it could become a serious contender in automotive AI. The road ahead is competitive, but SoundHound is showing it knows how to drive forward. In the race for automotive AI dominance, SoundHound faces stiff competition from well-funded rivals like Alphabet Inc. GOOGL and Aurora Innovation AUR. Google's Android Automotive OS powers infotainment systems in vehicles from Volvo, Ford, and others, offering built-in access to Google Assistant, a dominant player in voice AI with deep ecosystem integration. Its advantage lies in scale, cloud capabilities, and consumer familiarity, making it a formidable Innovation, while more focused on autonomous driving, is also advancing human-machine interaction within self-driving systems. Its emphasis on real-time decision-making and safety-critical voice commands aligns closely with the kind of seamless, in-vehicle voice experiences SoundHound is both GOOGL and AUR have broader resources, SoundHound's strength lies in specialization. Its end-to-end conversational AI stack, freedom from hardware dependencies, and rapid deployment across OEMs give it a differentiated edge, especially as automakers increasingly look for alternatives to big tech. SoundHound plunged 5% in the past three months, underperforming the Zacks Computers - IT Services industry's 3.3% rise. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research In terms of its forward 12-month price-to-sales (P/S) ratio, SOUN is trading at 20.29, higher than the industry's 19.26. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research Over the past 60 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for SOUN's 2025 loss per share has remained unchanged at 16 cents per share. Nonetheless, the estimated figure reflects an improvement from the year-ago loss of $1.04 per share. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research SOUN stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL) : Free Stock Analysis Report Aurora Innovation, Inc. (AUR) : Free Stock Analysis Report SoundHound AI, Inc. (SOUN) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research ( Zacks Investment Research
