Out Fox The $treet

  Alphabet/Google continues to trade risk-off due to fears that Bing Chat is a major risk to the search market. The market fears over Google losing default search deals for mobile traffic from Apple and Samsung are misplaced. Google stock trades at an EV of only ~11x '25 EPS estimates. Within days, media reports have suggested  Alphabet Inc.  ( NASDAQ: GOOG ,  NASDAQ: GOOGL ) aka Google was at risk of losing search mobile browser default settings due primarily to new AI options.  Microsoft Corporation  ( MSFT ) search  engine Bing is definitely a threat in AI, but the stock market is too fearful of this threat in Internet search. My  investment thesis  remains ultra Bullish on Google based on the cheap valuation and its dominant position in mobile search that is unlikely to be impacted by losing default browser settings. Read the full article on Seeking Alpha.  Disclosure: No position mentioned. Please review the disclaimer page for mor...

Google slumped last week following an underwhelming AI chat launch. The company obtains all of their profits from the Google Services business focused on Google search causing the market to excessively worry about competitive threats. The stock trades with an EV of 10x '25 non-GAAP EPS targets even before expected efficiency gains. Alphabet  ( NASDAQ: GOOG ,  NASDAQ: GOOGL ) collapsed this week following a failed answer in a tweet launching a new conversational AI service. The market was overly dramatic on the outcome of the AI event hosted by Google, especially considering ChatGPT  has several high profile failures. My  investment thesis  is ultra Bullish on the stock following the major dip back below $95. Read the full article on Seeking Alpha.  Disclosure: No position mentioned. Please review the disclaimer page for more details. 

Google is the apparent winner of the NFL Sunday Ticket at a cost of $2+ billion. The financials of the NFL deal don't add up to a winning deal. The stock is cheap at ~13x EPS targets, but over paying for the Sunday Ticket is a bad move for shareholders. This idea was discussed in more depth with members of my private investing community, Out Fox The Street.  Learn More »   When DirecTV, still 70% owned by  AT&T  ( T ), didn't want to pay another $1.5 billion for the NFL Sunday Ticket, investors have to wonder why big tech wanted to pay even more.  Google  ( NASDAQ: GOOG ,  NASDAQ: GOOGL ) battled with  Apple  ( AAPL ) for the right to overpay for limited out-of-market NFL games. Read the full article on Seeking Alpha.  Disclosure: No position mentioned. Please review the disclaimer page for more details. 

  Yext fell following a solid FQ2'22 revenue beat. The company continues to face headwinds in international markets due to covid, but Yext also guided up revenue for the year. The stock trades at a massive valuation multiple gap to other search providers that should close as growth rates reverse. This idea was discussed in more depth with members of my private investing community, Out Fox The Street.  Learn More » Read the full article on Seeking Alpha.  Disclosure: Long YEXT. Please review the disclaimer page for more details.  Update - Oct. 15 Huge numbers from Samsung on switching to the Answers product from Yext. The stock trading at the lows makes absolutely no sense as the globe continues to reopen.  - Within eleven weeks of launching with Support Answers, Samsung experienced significant growth in every major customer satisfaction metric, increasing its Net Promoter Score (NPS) by 45%, Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT) by 33%, number of resolved iss...

Alphabet has dipped $400 on COVID-19 fears. The company has an EV down to only $670 billion due to $115 billion in net cash. A slash in travel ad revenues will cut $1-2 billion in quarterly revenues. The stock only trades at an EV of 12.2x '21 EPS targets. A $1,700 target is only 19.0x EPS targets. With analysts already warning on  Alphabet  ( GOOG ,  GOOGL ) losing ad revenue in the travel space, the stock has taken an amazing $400 hit from recent highs. While consumers Internet search usage may remain high, hotels and travel destinations aren't going to advertise on the platform with a lack of travelers. While the situation sounds dire in the short term, investors should buy the stock for the all but certain rebound in the digital ad space as the coronavirus fears dissipate in the next weeks or months. My  investment thesis  maintains a $1,700 price target on the stock based on no changes to 2021 estimates. Read the full article on Seeking A...

Alphabet missed Q4 revenue estimates by $790 million. The tech giant grew revenue at a 19% rate at constant currency. My price target remains $1,700 based on an EV/E of 20x '21 EPS estimates of $76. Alphabet  (NASDAQ: GOOG ) (NASDAQ: GOOGL ) appeared headed towards our  $1,700 price target  until the company disappointed the market with Q4 reported revenue growth of only 17%. The digital ad giant generates volatile revenue growth making the stock a buy anytime the Alphabet dips despite constant currency growth at 20% annual growth rates. Read the full article on Seeking Alpha.  Disclosure: No position mentioned. Please review the disclaimer page for more details. 

Baidu remains a hidden tech giant in a market of $500 billion global giants. The Chinese search leader is returning to 30% revenue growth. The company has several hidden assets that the market is currently not ascribing any value. After a few years in self-imposed purgatory due to surging costs on new initiatives,  Baidu  (NASDAQ: BIDU ) is finally back to generating the massive profits from substantial revenue growth of the past. The combination of dumping the high-cost services businesses and a return to a healthy search market has the internet search giant of China back onto a path to higher stock prices. Read the full article on Seeking Alpha.  Disclosure: Long BIDU. Read the disclaimer page for more details. 

Baidu reported Q1 results that beat estimates. The company returned to revenue growth after two quarters of declines following the new Internet advertising laws in China. The valuation gap with Alphabet has grown incredibly large suggesting the soon-to-be faster growing Baidu has plenty of upside. The  Q1 '17 results  prove that  Baidu  (NASDAQ: BIDU ) is finally emerging from a nearly yearlong bout with tighter Internet advertising regulations in China. The requirement to verify online marketing accounts set the business back nearly a year. Please see the full article on Seeking Alpha.  Disclosure: Long Baidu. Please see the disclosure page for more details. 

After another strong earnings report, Alphabet (GOOGL) is up $12 today to $829. The stock appears on a path to $1,000. RBC Capital Markets tech analyst Mark Mahaney places a $1,025 target on the stock. Alphabet trades at a meager 20 forward P/E multiple making one wonder if the inability to obtain a higher multiple is related to the market cap of nearly $560 billion or the potential problems in Europe. Either way, it appears the stock is on a path to $1,000. More research: Alphabet: Only Takes Minimal Financial Discipline Alphabet: EU Problems Disclosure: No position. Please review the disclaimer page for more details. 

Alphabet was downgraded by Wedbush suggesting the companies search business faces an inflection point. The stock trades at a relative value with plenty of opportunities for financial discipline to boost profits. The suggestion is to let the stock tell you when the inflection point occurs, especially at these breakout levels above $800. Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOG )(NASDAQ: GOOGL ) is trading sideways near a new high today after an analyst downgrade. The decision is odd considering the stock is near a breakout and potential run towards $900 and possibly even $1,000. Read the full article on Seeking Alpha.  Disclosure: No position. Please review the disclaimer page for more details. 

Baidu reports mixed results for Q2 while the market focuses on the length of the regulatory impacts. The stock continues to trade favorably to domestic Internet companies not facing short-term regulatory impacts. A couple of catalysts will provide ultimate upside for the stock once this difficult period passes. Tighter regulation in China continues to impact  Baidu  (NASDAQ: BIDU ) at the same time that  Facebook  (NASDAQ: FB ) and  Alphabet  (NASDAQ: GOOG )(NASDAQ: GOOGL ) are still experiencing explosive growth. The global economy continues shifting aggressively to digital and especially mobile advertising that should ultimately benefit Baidu. Read the full article at Seeking Alpha.  Disclosure: Long BIDU. Please review the disclaimer page for more details. 

Alphabet surges to new highs based on surpassing Q3'15 estimates. A big rationale for the recent gains isn't so apparent in the Q3 details that suggest financial discipline isn't in place following the hiring of the new CFO. The stock likely continues rallying based on momentum until year-end before the market wakes up to the higher levels spent on other bets. The investment thesis about 150 points and a name ago was that the stock of Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOG ) (NASDAQ: GOOGL ) would soar based on a grownup running the show. The prediction was that the stock had significant ability to not only grow earnings, but obtain higher multiples from the market with better financial stewardship. Read the full article at Seeking Alpha. Disclosure: No position mentioned. Please review the disclaimer page for more details. 

Summary Google smashes Q2 2015 earnings estimates. The Internet-search giant is benefiting from better cost control and YouTube growth. The stock lost a lot of the valuation appeal after the nearly $100 gain, but it still provides solid annual growth potential.     The surprising aspect of the Q2 results for Google (NASDAQ: GOOG )(NASDAQ: GOOGL ) was that expense controls were already evident in the numbers. In the article (see Is Google Finally Growing Up? ) released just prior to the earnings report, the research highlighted how the stock could head a lot higher based on tighter expense controls. The level of operating margins had the potential to grow to be inline with other tech giants.  Read the full article on Seeking Alpha .  Disclosure: No positions mentioned. Please read the disclaimer page for more details.

Signs are emerging that the new CFO is starting to implement some financial discipline at Google. The Internet search giant has long frustrated shareholders with out of control expenses. Google has operating margins far below the other tech giants. A grown up Google could head much higher. The hiring of a new CFO a few months back had shareholders hopeful that the new finance leader would help constrain the spending at Google (NASDAQ: GOOG ) (NASDAQ: GOOGL ) . The Internet search leader has long spent heavy on research and development for projects far astray of the main money generator. Read the full article on Seeking Alpha. Disclosure: Please review the disclaimer page for more details. 

Only a month ago,  Baidu (NASDAQ: BIDU ) was struggling to stay above $90 as the company faced margin and competitive pressures from the shift toward mobile internet usage and more specifically, mobile search, that it doesn’t dominate like desktop search. The leading Chinese search provider has increased operating expenses in order to expand research and development and marketing in order to build out the mobile products and to publicize more » Disclosure: Long BIDU. Please review the disclaimer page for more details. 

With the transition to mobile search around the world, it probably shouldn’t be too surprising that Baidu (NASDAQ: BIDU ) has struggled over the last year. In fact, the dominant player in Chinese search faces a bigger issue as the Chinese move quicker towards mobile. The China Internet Network Information Center reported that the total online population rose to 591 million with wireless users surging to 464 million. The percentage more » Disclosure: Long BIDU. Read the full disclaimer page for more details. 

After a disappointing year it appears that Baidu (BIDU) is finally waking up. The stock has been in a major downtrend since peaking last April over $150. The stock has been a favorite of Stone Fox Capital over the last couple of months as the it dropped below $90. It currently trades at only 16x greatly reduced forward estimates. With the China internet sector still in the early days, investors can purchase the preeminent search engine in that massive country on the cheap. For comparative purposes, BIDU is worth only $36B while Google (GOOG) now approaches $300B. No doubt should exist that BIDU will approach the valuations of GOOG as the China internet market grows up. Disclosure: Long BIDU. Please review the disclaimer page for more details. 

A common theory in the technology world is the concept of investing for the future. Typically, these phases take place prior to a company going public, but lately several large-cap techs have started campaigns to dramatically increase expenses to capture mobile growth. Ironically, the market has chosen to punish one stock while giving the other a big pass. Not to mention, the mobile transition has been a constant profit disruption to most major firms, as the initial traffic flows don't offset the lower monetization levels. Over the last couple of weeks, both Baidu (BIDU) and Facebook (FB) have reported that margins were greatly impacted by ramped up spending for mobile. The only difference is that Facebook continues heading to recent highs while Baidu languishes at multi-year lows, appearing as if the stock might head much lower. Read the full article at Seeking Alpha. Disclosure: Long BIDU. Please review the disclaimer page. 

Based on the post earnings sell-off of Baidu ( BIDU ) , investors now get the opportunity to buy the market leader in the explosive Chinese market at a substantial discount to growth potential. While investors fret over the increased costs and the transition to mobile search, they missed the big picture that mobile will eventually lead to much higher traffic for a country with only 42% Internet penetration. The company is the leading Chinese language Internet search provider with over 70% market share. As mentioned prior to earnings on February 4th, the company is an extreme value with strong growth potential. The stock reached close to all-time highs last April around $150 and a market value of $55B. The stock fell off the China cliff until December and has returned back to those levels since the recent sell-off. While investors mull over more competition from Qihoo 360 Technology ( QIHU ), the real issue remains a market transition outside of the control of the comp...

Through April of this year, Baidu, Inc. (BIDU) was one of the hottest tech properties in the investment world. The stock of the leading Chinese language internet search provider reached close to all time highs around $150 and a market value of $55B. Now the stock appears to be falling off the China cliff. Not only is the stock facing less and less investor appetite for Chinese stocks, but now the fears are growing that all Chinese stocks face delisting possibilities due to audit issues. While the S&P 500 remained close to recent highs on Wednesday, Baidu again plunged to a new 52 week low. Other issues continue to pop up over the conversion to mobile reducing the click through rate (CTR) and more competition from Qihoo 360 Technology (QIHU) . All of these issues have pushed the stock down to a very cheap valuation with a PEG near 0.5. Read the full article at Seeking Alpha. Disclosure: No positions mentioned. Please review the disclaimer page for more details.