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As losses on Wall Street pile up, many investors will turn their attention to Silicon Valley Thursday afternoon, when Google reports its third quarter earnings.
The search juggernaut has seen its share price fall dramatically recently, along with the rest of the market, and many analysts have downgraded their price targets for the company’s stock, which one year ago was trading near $700. Google shares closed at $339.17 Wednesday.
Here’s what to listen for during the earnings announcement.
Online ad spending: Google insists it can better weather economic downturns than its rivals due to the reliability and transparency of its web search ads. But with online ad spending continuing to slow, will the company finally feel the brunt of the malaise? Look for search ad revenue to remain relatively strong, compared to display advertising, which disproportionately affects Yahoo, Microsoft and AOL.
AdWords: In August, Google announced improvements to its AdWords monetization system, specifically the Quality Score it uses to evaluate search ads. Look for the company to offer an update on how successful that process has been.
Chrome: Last month, Google launched its Chrome web browser in a direct assault on Microsoft’s dominance with Internet Explorer. After an initial flurry of attention and buzz, Chrome usage has tapered off to about 1.5 percent market share. Expect company executives to discuss improvements to the Chrome and perhaps offer a strategy for cracking Microsoft’s control of the browser market.
Android: In a similarly buzzy announcement, T-Mobile announced the first cell phones powered by Android, Google’s open-source mobile operating system. Although the phone, known as the G1, doesn’t go on sale until Oct. 22, T-Mobile has reportedly received some 1.5 million pre-orders for it. Look for Google execs to lay out how they plan to leverage Android into a mobile advertising platform.
YouTube: Google has recently increased its efforts to try to make more money from YouTube, for which it paid $1.5 billion, including a plan to sell music from Amazon.com and iTunes. Expect to hear analysts press company executives to hear just how much they think this will add to Google’s bottom line. And expect to hear those same executives dodge the question by saying that this is just the first of many revenue opportunities for YouTube.
Currency: How has the strengthening dollar affected Google’s business outside the United States, which accounts for about half its revenue? A strengthening dollar should hurt those revenues. Analysts will be interested to hear how the company’s efforts to hedge against dollar’s strength.
Yahoo search ad deal: Google and Yahoo recently agreed to postpone their controversial search ad pact while the Justice Department reviews the deal. The companies are said to be in talks with the agency over measures to ensure that the deal gets the go-ahead. Analysts will want to hear an update on those talks, but Google executives are unlikely to be very forthcoming.
from Portfolio.com: Tech Observer by Sam Gustin
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