Continue reading Yahoo! Trades Higher Following Earnings Report

Yahoo! Trades Higher Following Earnings Report originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 26 Jan 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

A big player in the tech sector is ready to report today. Google (GOOG) will publish Q4 results later this afternoon. Traders and investors alike get super excited when the search behemoth tells the world how it's doing.

I think the company will show that it's doing quite well. According to Earnings.com, expectations peg the per-share profit at $6.43. If that number is hit, then the growth rate will be a solid 26% (last year at this time, Google made $5.10 per share). Of course, most people aren't interested in hitting the projected stat, they want management to rise above it and demonstrate true earnings power.

Continue reading Google's Q4 Is Here: What Should We Expect?

Google's Q4 Is Here: What Should We Expect? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 21 Jan 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Unless you already have a major foothold in the search engine market - or an amazing, disruptive technology that can make the world take notice - there isn't much point in staying. Competing with Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) is hard enough, even when you're Yahoo (NASDAQ: YHOO) or Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) ... and, apparently, when you're IAC/InterActive Corp (NASDAQ: IACI). Barry Diller is ready to give up Jeeves, but only if asked nicely.

Diller's presence in the search space is Ask.com, ranked #4 behind Google, Yahoo and Microsoft's Bing. With a substantial gap between first and second, fourth barely registers at all. Ask.com has only a 2% U.S. market share, according to Hitwise, more than 60 percentage points behind the industry leader.

Continue reading Would anybody buy Jeeves? Ask might go on block

Would anybody buy Jeeves? Ask might go on block originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 28 Oct 2009 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The number two search engine in the United States turned in a fantastic third quarter, far ahead of expectations. Cost-cutting, layoffs and business divestitures led to a surge in Yahoo's (NASDAQ: YHOO) profits and a 4.8% increase in share price in extended trading on Tuesday evening. Net income more than tripled to $186.1 million (13 cents per share) from the third quarter of 2008's result of $54.3 million (4 cents a share). Sales (exclusive of fees passed to partner sites) reached $1.13 billion, slightly above the $1.12 billion expected by analysts, according to a Bloomberg survey.

With the advertising market in rough shape and competition from Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) continually rising, Yahoo refocused on its core properties: the home page, messaging and mobile services. The company trimmed what it didn't need, which is why it was able to boost its earnings even with a decline in revenue. Increased ad revenue from auto manufacturers, travel companies and consumer product manufacturers also helped.

Yahoo's chief financial officer, Timothy Morse, says that the company's markets are "starting to stabilize." Of course, Yahoo itself must be doing something right: its share price is up 41% this year.

Continue reading Yahoo profit triples year-over-year

Yahoo profit triples year-over-year originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 21 Oct 2009 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Some people join wine-of-the-month clubs. There are plenty of other programs out there, too, where your credit card is hit every month, and your purchase is sent to you directly. If only such programs were available for Google (NASDAQ: GOOG). . . .

The company's CEO, Eric Schmidt, said Wednesday that Google plans to pick up a small company a month as a way to get its acquisition head back in the game. With the worst of the recession behind us, Google believes, this is a great way to get moving.

Continue reading Google's hungry, looking for a new company every month

Google's hungry, looking for a new company every month originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 24 Sep 2009 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Bing gaining ground on Google

Bing gaining ground on Google originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 22 Sep 2009 14:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) isn't invincible. The search and online ad giant is expected to report lukewarm growth for the second quarter today because of a brutal market for advertising and redoubled efforts by Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) to own a bit more than its meager share of the online market.

Good news would have to come in the form of a better mousetrap for growing Google's ad market and ways to keep the Redmond machine from tripping it up. Ultimately, analysts are looking to see how Google can get back to the double-digit growth that used to be a given.

Continue reading Google Q2 will be shaped by demand ... and Bing

Google Q2 will be shaped by demand ... and Bing originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 16 Jul 2009 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Yahoo Inc (NASDAQ: YHOO) claims not to be under pressure to ink a search deal with Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT). You know what that means ...

The two distant followers in the search engine space were considering a partnership, but Microsoft's newly released Bing search engine raises questions as to how committed Microsoft would be to a deal. Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz was quick to explain, according to Reuters, that "Yahoo doesn't have to do anything with Microsoft about anything" and that it is "a damned big, important site."

The benefits of the deal are salient, mostly involving scale and increased monetization of Yahoo's search service. The second largest search company estimates that it would save up to $700 million in a year through the Microsoft partnership.

Even though Yahoo is "damned big," Bartz believes that the acquisition of smaller companies that could be folded easily would be a good use of the company's cash.

Yahoo! is damned big and important, doesn't need Microsoft Deal originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 04 Jun 2009 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Back on tax day, my friend and colleague Elizabeth Harrow wondered if Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO) would announce job cuts when it reports earnings tomorrow. Ms. Harrow looked at a report in The New York Times about preparations for a "significant round of layoffs" and then took a look at the option activity on the Internet search portal a week ahead of earnings.

Something that Elizabeth noted was the fact that the 15 strike was going to assume the mantle of peak call open interest when the market opens for trading festivities today. This level could be a major sticking point for the stock, as Yahoo hasn't closed atop the $15 level since late 2008.

Continue reading A peek at Yahoo ahead of earnings

A peek at Yahoo ahead of earnings originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 20 Apr 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Google's PowerMeter will monitor your power

Google's PowerMeter will monitor your power originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 11 Feb 2009 13:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Google, Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) reported Q4 numbers on Thursday after the market closed up for the day. Revenues increased 18% to $5.7 billion and GAAP income fell by a lot, coming in at $1.21 per diluted share versus $3.79 per diluted share in the year-ago period. However, after adjusting for various charges, the bottom line comes out to $5.10 per diluted share. Referring to the Before the Call piece, I see that this performance was good for growth of 15% and was good for a beat of analyst views by $0.15.

Not bad. Google may not be growing like it used to do in the old days, but I thought its Q4 came out pretty good, all things considered. Operational cash flow for the year increased by 36% (gotta love that). Free cash flow for the year was nearly $5.5 billion. As can be seen, Google held up well during the difficult climate, as its online ad model apparently was healthy. However, I have to point out something that I'm not a huge fan of: management is exchanging worthless employee options for fresh ones. Uh, what's the point of stock options in the first place? Aren't they supposed to be financial incentives for employees? What can you do, I suppose, but this is why I sometimes wish that options as compensation would just go away.

So, Google is holding up, and it beat estimates. Even though the stock has perked up as of late, I'm not inclined to buy it at these levels. I certainly wouldn't buy it on today's modest rally of 5.5% (that was the stock's performance as of this writing). Google is the giant in search, and it offers tough competition to Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) and Yahoo!, Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO). But I think the next several quarters could be tough for the tech entity, and I'd rather get more data before deciding what to do with Google as a potential investment idea. I just don't feel in a rush to do anything about the stock currently.

Disclosure: I don't own any company mentioned; positions can change without notice.

Google's Q4: Should you buy now? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 23 Jan 2009 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

It used to be that the premier advertising medium in the US could keep its place on top for a generation or more. Now that cycle has been cut down to years. Newspapers ruled the American market for more than a century. Radio was dominant for almost five decades. TV pulled ahead in the 1950s and 1960s followed by cable.

In just the last decade the internet has become the "hot" place for advertisers to put their money. First that investment went into big web portals like AOL. Then the flow of money moved to search engines with Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) out in front. It developed the reputation as the most efficient way to reach a multitude of markets and that built it into one of the most valuable companies in the world, based on market cap.

Continue reading More trouble for Google as marketers move on

More trouble for Google as marketers move on originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 20 Jan 2009 09:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

As Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) gets ready for another round of talks with Yahoo! (NASDAQ:YHOO) about buying its search business, the news that CEO Steve Ballmer killed two chances to get into search several years ago has emerged.

While there is some chance that the new chief of Yahoo! may elect to keep the portal company's search business, there is little reason not to at least hear Microsoft's latest offer.

Ballmer had the opportunity for MSFT to build online search empire almost ten years ago. According to The Wall Steed Journal, "In 2000, before Google married Web search with advertising, Microsoft had a rudimentary system that did the same, called Keywords, running on the Web. Advertisers began signing up. " For reasons that are hard to fathom, the world largest software company thought that an ad business built on search could hurt revenue from its other businesses. Microsoft also had the chance to buy a relatively small search company and passed.

Continue reading Steve Ballmer killed Microsoft's big chance at search

Steve Ballmer killed Microsoft's big chance at search originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 16 Jan 2009 09:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

News reports are emerging that the search for a Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO) CEO is coming to a close.

According to The Wall Street Journal, "Among candidates still under consideration is Carol Bartz, the former chief executive officer of Autodesk. a publicly traded company that builds design software used in engineering." But that is purely a guess.

The issue over who is chosen is not as important as what the person does in the first few months. Perhaps the primary goal would be to keep key executives from walking out the door. Because no one has articulated what the internet portal's long-term plans are there is little reason for people who can get other jobs to stay.

The first option for the company might be to sell its search business to Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT). Redmond may no longer be interested, and Yahoo! would be giving up its one strategic asset--that it is No. 2 in search behind Google (NASDAQ: GOOG). Without that, it is just another website.

Continue reading A Yahoo! (YHOO) CEO must focus on mobile: It's all that's left

A Yahoo! (YHOO) CEO must focus on mobile: It's all that's left originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 09 Jan 2009 12:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Web browser makeovers and why S&P is bullish on Google

Web browser makeovers and why S&P is bullish on Google originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 21 Nov 2008 14:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) and Yahoo! (NASDAQ:YHOO) still want their deal for the large search engine company to sell search advertising for the large portal company. Yahoo! knows that Google's system for selling these ads is more efficient. Yahoo! should make more money under the arrangement.

But, almost every large advertiser in the US and Google's competitors want to block the partnership. They don't want Google to have broad pricing power over search. It has about 65% of the market and Yahoo! has another 20%. According to The Wall Street Journal, "Advertisers have told Justice Department officials that the partnership will limit competition, raise prices and reduce choices."

The Justice Department, which has to review whether the deal works under antitrust laws, is getting itchy.

So, what happens? If Google has any sense, it will throw Yahoo! under the bus and walk away. Google stands to get in real trouble with Justice if the government decides to look at the company's share of search even without the Yahoo! deal. It is better off leaving quietly. Google is not likely to make a huge amount of money from selling ads for Yahoo! since the money will be split between the two companies.

Yahoo!, which is struggling to improve revenue and with its stock near a 52-week low, needs the new sales from Google. And, if the larger company exits the deal, Yahoo! has a major problem.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com

Google (GOOG) and Yahoo! (YHOO) try to dodge Justice Department originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 14 Oct 2008 10:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Google (GOOG) extends lead in search engine market

Google (GOOG) extends lead in search engine market originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 19 Sep 2008 14:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading eBay possibly looking to dump StumbleUpon

eBay possibly looking to dump StumbleUpon originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 19 Sep 2008 14:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) can't pick up market share on the locals in some places including Russia, China and Japan. Relatively small search companies in these countries hold pieces of the search business that are often above 60%. If Google is going to continue its march toward world domination, it cannot let a bunch of tiny competitors get in the way.

According to the FT, "Baidu in China and Naver in South Korea each handle about 60 percent of internet searches in their respective countries." Google faces significant problems because these markets are growing quickly, unlike the U.S. and Europe where internet use is flattening. Local language products already have brand recognition and systems that work well in local languages.

The news is even worse for Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO). With its share of the American search market shrinking, it has little recourse beyond trying to improve its overseas presence and to pick up search share on mobile devices. Yahoo does own part of Yahoo! Japan, but it does not have a meaningful market share in any other large country.

Google has a problem overseas, but Yahoo! has a disaster.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

Google has trouble in Asia, but that won't help Yahoo! originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 17 Sep 2008 13:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The U.S. government is looking into whether the partnership that would allow Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) to sell search ads on Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO) is anticompetitive. The two companies have over 75% of the search market in the U.S. European Union regulators have also started an investigation.

Now the real piling on has begun. According to The Wall Street Journal, The World Association of Newspapers is opposing the deal because "the agreement would reduce the cost of paid search ads and lower revenues for newspapers' and others' Web sites." That adds a bit of confusion. Marketers oppose the deal because a monopoly would raise rates and cost them more money.

The future of the agreement is now being challenged from a number of sides for a number of reasons. If the pressure becomes great enough, Google may simply walk away. Selling advertising for Yahoo! may be a good business, but it is not likely to balloon the search giant's earnings.

Yahoo! is another matter. It needs improved revenue from search ads to make the case that it should stay independent and that is can drive earnings up on its own.

Without Google, Yahoo! has a very modest future. At $18.85, Yahoo! trades near a 52-week low. Without Google, the shares could go much lower.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

Another challenge to Google deal with Yahoo! originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 16 Sep 2008 11:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.