Financial, Real Estate, Stock Markets Trends and Current Affairs

On Monday I posted Google Q2 2013 Update: Valuing Possibly The Most Powerful Co. In The World?, an update on Google's valuation and target price points for my subscribers. In said piece, I illuminated the massive misunderstanding of Google's business model. I consistently hear pundits bang on the table screaming, "But nearly all of Google's revenue comes from advertising!!!" That's the point! Google monetizes nearly ALL of its ventures through advertising, whcih is why it can actually outgrow the pace of online advertising growth and still be the biggest player in the game. It rides the rising tide while still pumping water under its surfboard.

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Google has almost consistently outgrown the adoption rate of web advertising. What does this mean? Well, it means that although Web advertising is getting bigger and more popular as a slice of the total advertising pie, Google is getting even bigger and more dominant in the space – not less. Google is beating competition back even as the market grows! 

Google ad growth

How does it do this? Google management thinks BIG, very BIG! Think about it...

Android - takes over mobile computing, literally! It has passed 900 million devices activated, with 48 billion app downads. That's nearly a billion, a force to be reckoned with for any developer, marketer or advertiser. Just two years ago, I had to cram this concept down the throats of develoepers and advertisers - One Reason Why Software Developers & Tech Firms Should Pay Close Attention To Research Boutiques Such As BoomBustBlog

Notebook computing that drives prices towards zero...

chromebook

Commercial speed internet access (1 Gbit) for the price of cable TV (that's 100x the speed of cable internet access, both ways - up and downstream), meet Google Fiber and understand that now 14 year olds can produce and distribute their own TV shose from their mommy's basement. Speaking of which...

YouTube- takes over visual media production and consumption, as they now have subscription video channels ala Netflix (accept iy can upload your own content) - YouTube confirms subscription model, and here are the partners ...

Self driving cars - self explanatory

Google Glass - transforms personal and mobile computing

I can go on, as a matter of fact, I think I will. Google has released some blockbuster products and flops, the key is they're not afraid to experiment, and like Microsoft, they don't give up at the first sign of failure. Remember, it often takes 99 "No's" to get one "Yes". Google Wallet is one such product. It faced extreme industry pushback, primarily because it stepped on too many toes, particularly those toes that spend a lot of money on lobbying (the banking and financial services industry). Now, it looks as if management is going grass roots, bringing the world's most ubiquitous "Free" email system to the ability to send money as an attachment. That's right, GMail now allows you to send cash as a simple attachment. This is much more convenient than PayPal, wiring funds, or practically anthing else I can think of.

 Screen Shot 2013-05-15 at 11.24.11 PM

With this many projects in the pipeline, Google's revenue and profit potential dwarfs that of Apple - the purveyor of pretty, shiny things...

 Subscribers, click the following links for my updated price targets on Google (click here to subscribe):

•  Google Q1 2013 Valuation Note - Retail
  (Technology)
•  Google Q1 2013 Valuation Note - Professional & Instititional
  (Technology)

The biggest risks to these price points are:

1. A market that's being levitated by central bank magicians running short on magic spells...
2. Regulatory pressure, which I feel is quite material and inevitable, but will not be a major factor in the near term. 

Five years ago I posed the question, "Has the Web and the Blogosphere ushered in the Death of Radio?" Lookng at radio station revenues and ad rates, while their death is not necessarily eminent, the metastatization of a near terminal disease is. Now, half decade later, is it time to pose that question for Mainstream Media in general? Methinks there is a significant opporutunity for those true entrepeneurs who can figure out how to make a better mouse trap. The infographic below says it all...

Internet Influence

Other examples...

• Mainstream Media Says Cyprus Salvaged By EU ...
• What Sell Side Wall Street Doesn't Understand ... 
• A Couple Of Apple Facts That Mainstream Media ... 
• BoomBustBlog Research Opinion Hits the Mainstream Media, Sort Of...

Note: New research is available for subscribers at the bottom of this article.

This research report is going to be a bit different. As you know, I chose Google as my stock pick in the 2^nd Annual CNBC Stock Draft – after winning it last year with Google. This (as with most of my public moves) proved to be both contrarian and controversial. There were other companies to choose from (which I will share with my subscribers over the upcoming weeks), but do to my father passing away and the fact that I run a subscription service, I did not have the time parse a pick that wasn't the purview of my subscription service.

Alas, Google will do just fine and I believe it has a very strong future – as long as the stock as long as the market doesn’t come crashing back to reality!

As per Google’s CEO, they “had a really strong start to 2013, with Q1 revenue up 31% year-on-year to $14 billion.” This tends to overshadow the real strength in Google’s performance, and that is its very significant investment in future products and innovations. Again, as per the CEO, “Over the last two years, we worked hard to increase our velocity, improve our execution, and focus on the big bets that will make a difference in the world.”

If you remember Apple’s Siri, you remember a microcosm of the universe in which Apple and Google exist, complete with their strengths and weaknesses. Apple is a marketing behemoth, but their engineering lacking in relation to their data hungry adversary. Google is an engineering behemoth, although their marketing may be a tad understated for certain shareholder’s tastes – and particularly when compared to Apple. Siri essentially is a flop. As for Google Now, Google’s version of Siri (which predated Siri)…

“Take Google now, our goal is to get you the right information at just the right time. Launched nine months ago, Now provides boarding passes, delivery updates, and traffic conditions without you having to ask first. In this quarter, we added movie tickets nicely packaged with directions to the theatre. I am also excited about our Voice Search momentum. Looking for the nearest pharmacy, just ask Google for directions, and we’ll deliver them instantly, no typing needed. And you can now ask conversational questions like do I need a jacket this weekend. Voice commands are going to be increasingly important, it's just much less hassle to talk than type.”

The importance of Google’s voice command technology cannot be understated. These are examples that I just used for those unfamiliar with the tech. 

As compared to the closest competitor, Apple's Siri...

These commands take even more precedent when viewed in context of Google's biggest launch of the year, Glass....

Google is in the final phases of launching a product, a product that is to personal productivity as the smart phone was to computing. The company is up about 10% since that video about a month and change ago...

Google since April 16th 2013

From the latest quarterly valuation update for BoomBustBlog subscribers (click here to subscribe): 

BoomBustBlog releases its updated valuation on Google Inc. The stock has registered a +47% return since our last valuation update in March 2012.

Google continues to play a dominant-leader role in the online advertisement and search market. Its market share in online advertisement has been consistently growing not only in the US, but also in the other geographies. Besides being a leader in the online advertisement market, the company has been continuously taking initiatives to broaden its product and service offering. The last year has seen a number of (now) well-known products.

The continuous endeavor to diversify product and services through sustained efforts in research & development forms an important component of our valuation. While we expect that the company will continue to grow its revenue off its leading space in the advertisement and search market, its ability to diversify its future revenue in different streams is a key to the current valuation. We therefore expect its revenue to grow along a more diversified route. This statement requires some explanation, for most still don’t seem to understand the Google business model. Google monetizes the vast majority of its initiatives through ad revenue. This causes many to label Google’s various ventures as a failure, due to being misled by cost shifting. Google cost shifts through a myriad of products, disrupting entire industries, then monetizes the results through “Ad Revenue”. Thus, looking for direct revenue streams from Android is fruitless in comparison to searching for strength in ad revenue bolstered by Android.

Google has almost consistently outgrown the adoption rate of web advertising. What does this mean? Well, it means that although Web advertising is getting bigger and more popular as a slice of the total advertising pie, Google is getting even bigger and more dominant in the space – not less. Google is beating competition back even as the market grows! 

Google ad growth

•  Google Q1 2013 Valuation Note - Retail
  (Technology)
•  Google Q1 2013 Valuation Note - Professional & Instititional
  (Technology)