5. Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)
Number of Hedge Fund Investors: 165
Looking ahead, the Department of Justice will soon take Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) to court, accusing the company of misusing its dominance in digital advertising to disadvantage competitors. Cramer acknowledged that Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) had previously faced criticism for paying to be the default search engine on Apple devices, but he finds the current legal challenge less credible.
“Stocks can’t stabilize until these weak shareholders sell out. History shows that significant market drops like this tend to offer great buying opportunities. On October 25th, 2023, Google dropped $180 billion, and since then, it’s come back with a 25% gain—not bad, but it’s the only stock on this list that failed to beat the S&P, which jumped 32% in that time.
Next week, Justice goes to court to try to stop Google. The Department claims in its brief that Google abuses its monopoly power to disadvantage website publishers and advertisers who dare to use competing ad tech products in search of higher quality or lower cost matches. According to the brief, Google uses “its dominion over digital advertising technology to funnel more transactions to its own ad tech products, where it extracts inflated fees to line its own pockets at the expense of the advertisers and publishers it purportedly serves.
Now, Google was recently found to be engaged in anti-competitive behavior when it paid to become the default search engine for Apple. Yeah, they got nailed for that. I get it—they paid to reach a huge audience. Microsoft could have outbid them to make Bing the default search engine, but they didn’t. However, this new case is more absurd. The Justice Department is going after Google in a business where they’re already losing market share in the open market.”
Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG), the parent company of Google, is positioned for strong long-term growth thanks to its leading role in digital advertising, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence. For Q2 2024, Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) reported revenue of $74.6 billion, a 7% increase from the previous year, surpassing market expectations. Google Services, which includes advertising and YouTube, generated $63 billion, while Google Cloud revenue grew by 28% year-over-year to $10 billion.
Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)’s net income also rose to $18.4 billion, with earnings per share reaching $1.44, exceeding analysts’ forecasts. Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)’s growth is supported by its successful ad sales and efficient cost management. Recent advancements highlight Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)’s expanding role in AI and cloud computing. In August 2024, Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) introduced new AI tools integrated into Google Cloud, targeting industries like healthcare and finance.
These innovations are expected to boost Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)’s cloud business and capitalize on the rising adoption of AI technology. Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)’s investments in AI, including its Bard AI platform, position it as a leader in the field. With strong financial results, a growing share in cloud services, and leadership in AI, Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) presents a compelling investment opportunity with significant growth potential.
