Neha Gupta

Alphabet (GOOGL) has several branches, and Google is the branch that looks after its smart speaker business.

Facebook’s net profit was $3.9 billion in 2Q17, up from $2.3 billion in the corresponding quarter a year earlier.

Alphabet’s (GOOGL) Google submitted to the European Commission, the executive arm of the European Union (EZU), a plan on how it will stop favoring its own shopping services in its Internet search results.

Amazon’s (AMZN) 2017 book value per share of $51.30 compares to the expected book value per share of $52.50 for 2018.

Alibaba’s (BABA) stock fell about 6.2% on February 1—the day the company released its fiscal 3Q18 (December quarter) earnings.

Baidu (BIDU) and Google have a lot of similarities. It’s no wonder Baidu has earned itself the nickname of the “Google of China.”

PayPal (PYPL) could have bright prospects despite the competitive threat it faces from Square and Apple in the online payment market, according to equity research firm BTIG.

It comes as no surprise that Google is spending hundreds of millions of dollars every year to review content on its platforms such as YouTube.

Twitter (TWTR) is considering rolling out a feature that could empower its users to report misleading or deceitful news stories, according to a Washington Post report.

Alibaba (BABA) has returned -2.02% in the last month, 20.2% in the last 12 months, and 5.9% in the last five days.

Twitter (TWTR) announced in mid-February that it would be dismantling its app for Apple desktop computers.

Monthly active users Investors are on high alert as Twitter’s (TWTR) 3Q17 release approaches. Last quarter, Twitter failed to grow its audience base meaningfully, and going by how the market reacted to the report, investors were not impressed. Twitter went into 2Q17 with 328 million MAUs (monthly active users), and it came out of the quarter […]

Twitter reported earnings per share of -$0.70 in 2017, while its EPS for 2018 is forecast to be $0.40.

As Facebook (FB) reports its 4Q16 results, all eyes are on the company’s mobile revenue. FB has begun taking steps to monetize its other mobile properties such as Instagram.

Facebook (FB) has once again reiterated its ambitions to become the leading content supplier in the social media space.

The European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (or GDPR) came into force on May 25.

Amazon (AMZN) had expressed interest in acquiring Flipkart to try to keep Walmart (WMT) away from India’s fast-growing online retail sector.

Snap (SNAP) is poised to release its second-quarter results amid speculations of the company taking a deeper plunge into gaming.

With a book value per share of $219.60, Alphabet is trading at a price-to-book multiple of 4.8x.

Twitter (TWTR) is gearing up to tighten rules to foster healthier conversations on its platform and curb toxic speech.

According to eMarketer, Facebook (FB) took 19.9% of total US digital advertising funds in 2017, and Google (GOOGL) took 38.6%.

In the third quarter, eBay accounted for 11.0% of PayPal’s total payment volume, which was down from 13.0% in the third quarter of 2017.

On May 12, 2017, Alphabet (GOOGL) generated investor returns of 30.1% on a trailing 12-month basis.

Snap, which went public in March 2017, looks focused on accelerating its path to profitability.

Du Xiaoman Financial, Baidu’s (BIDU) financial services subsidiary, has been cleared to enter the business of selling mutual funds in China.

While announcing its plans for three new undersea cable systems and five new cloud regions, Google also disclosed that it had invested $30 billion into expanding its cloud infrastructure over the last three years.

On May 22, 2017, 2.6 million shares of Amazon (AMZN) exchanged hands, and the stock rose 1.1% to close at ~$970.7.

Twitter’s EV-to-adjusted EBITDA (enterprise value to adjusted earnings before interested, tax, depreciation, and amortization) for the trailing 12 months is 68.1x.

Amid tightening competition for advertising dollars, there is growing pressure on Google to diversify its revenue sources.

On December 19, Alibaba (BABA) stock opened at $140.75 and closed at $137.14, posting an average volume of 27.24 million.

PayPal grows faster than its parent, eBay PayPal (PYPL) outperformed several of its main challengers in 2017. While the stock rose 86.5%, Square (SQ) rose 154.4%, Amazon (AMZN) rose 56%, and Apple (AAPL) rose 46.1%. Alternative loan peer LendingClub (LC) fell 21.3% in 2017. PayPal’s parent, eBay (EBAY), saw its stock rise 27.1%. Could investors expect […]

Google’s smart speaker unit shipments soared 420% year-over-year in the second quarter.

According to Reuters, Facebook (FB) is currently in discussions with banks about improving customer service through its apps.

In the wake of the Facebook (FB) privacy scandals earlier this year, Twitter (TWTR) had a bit of explaining to do.

Snap (SNAP), the parent of photo-sharing app Snapchat, reported a significant improvement in revenue for 4Q17.

If hardware products appeal to social media users, then Snap as well as Facebook will both enter the business. It won’t be an easy road for Snap.

In 3Q17, Alphabet reported EMEA revenues of $9.1 billion, implying a growth of 23% YoY (year-over-year).

The Waymo litigation, the leadership crisis, and escalating competition appear to be scaring investors away from Uber.

Facebook (FB) is betting on video to drive its growth in the coming years.

As small- and medium-sized enterprises go online to bolster their customer exposure, the local advertising market is heating up with competition, and Twitter (TWTR) is one of the providers stoking the fire.

Baidu’s (BIDU) expenses have risen steadily in recent years with notable increases in the cost of revenue and R&D (research and development) spending.

Alibaba’s 14-day RSI (relative strength index) was 75 compared to 87, 67, 84, and 96 for peers Twitter, Amazon, Facebook, and Alphabet, respectively.

China has been struggling with an economic slowdown recently in the midst of trade frictions with the United States.

Japan is Twitter’s (TWTR) second-largest market after the United States.

Amazon’s (AMZN) automated Amazon Go store concept could improve the experience of shoppers, but it might also raise job creation questions.

Back in May 2017, Alibaba (BABA) announced a plan to repurchase its own shares to the tune of $6.0 billion over two years.

PayPal finished 3Q17 with 218 million active customer accounts globally, most of which are consumer accounts that could use Raisin’s savings deposit marketplace.

Amazon disclosed in April that its Prime program had attracted over 100 million members globally.

Amazon (AMZN) closed 3Q17 with 541,900 employees around the world.

In 3Q17, Twitter generated advertising revenues of $503.0 million. In that quarter, the company generated total revenues of $590.0 million.

While in 2017, Twitter was focused on driving profit margin improvements, in 2018, driving growth is going to take the center stage.

In June last year, Baidu (BIDU) launched a stock repurchase program under which it planned to return as much as $1.0 billion to its shareholders in a period of one year.

Of the 47 analysts covering Amazon (AMZN), 41 have given it “buy” recommendations, one has given it a “sell” recommendation, and five have given it “hold” recommendations.

Amazon (AMZN) is expanding its cloud footprint in Latin America as it pursues growth overseas.

Airbus is flying out of Microsoft’s (MSFT) Office environment, and the destination is Google.

PayPal’s (PYPL) chief financial officer, John Rainey, mentioned partnering with Amazon (AMZN) during a recent Credit Suisse technology event. He didn’t clarify whether the companies were still in active talks.

When eBay (EBY) announced earlier this year that Dutch company Adyen was replacing PayPal (PYPL) as its primary payments processor, something was not discussed.

Groupon (GRPN) is pumping millions of dollars (UUP) into marketing and customer acquisition efforts as it seeks to conquer the North American daily deals market.

Amazon (AMZN) is looking to build a new distribution center in Atlanta, according to an Atlanta Business Chronicle report citing sources familiar with the plans.

Amazon (AMZN) recently opened several bookstores in strategic locations in the US, including New York City.

In 2016, Alphabet issued a ten-year bond to raise $2 billion to pay off some short-term debts.

Investment research firm Zenith estimates that worldwide spending on online video ads rose 23.0% to $27.2 billion in 2017.

Zynga closed 3Q17 with 19 million daily active users (or DAUs) on mobile, indicating that its mobile audience grew 19% YoY year-over-year.

According to PricewaterhouseCoopers, the global book market could grow to $121.1 billion by 2020, up from $114.8 billion in 2016.

Square (SQ) is a corporate investor in online ticketing company Eventbrite (EB), which went public in September 2018.

PayPal (PYPL) has partnered with AliExpress, a marketplace owned by Alibaba (BABA). PayPal is helping merchants on AliExpress accept payment from international consumers.

PayPal Credit allows PayPal (PYPL) users to purchase products from PayPal merchants and pay later.

PayPal reported that its payment transaction per active account increased 12.0% year-over-year in 1Q17.

With Zynga (ZNGA) hitting profitability milestones in its recent quarters, its cash holdings have grown.

Twitter (TWTR) announced earlier this year that it was deploying AI to crack down on bad actors on its platform.

After an unsuccessful international expansion, Groupon (GRPN) has pulled out of overseas markets to pursue a narrowed strategic focus on North America.

The partnership with 3dcart could help Square accelerate its market share gain at a time of fierce competition for the control of the digital payments market.

Sonos, which went public earlier this month, uses Amazon’s Alexa digital agent in its smart speaker products.

eBay (EBAY) is optimistic about the growth opportunities that Israel presents, but it has been frustrated by the country’s tax system.

Although the way Alphabet has been investing suggests that it’s preparing for a future beyond advertising, it isn’t neglecting its core business.

According to eMarketer, 35.6 million Americans could interact with a voice-controlled device such as Google Home or Echo at least once a month this year.

Walmart (WMT) took its competition with Amazon (AMZN) to a whole new level earlier this month, forking out $16 billion to buy the majority stake in India’s e-commerce giant Flipkart.

The European Union’s new privacy regulation seems to be creating tensions between Google and its media partners.

At the end of 2Q17, eBay had 171 million active buyers. The company describes an active buyer as one who successfully closed a transaction on its platforms within the trailing 12 months.

The Get Fit initiative could see Amazon cut packaging costs, reduce marketing expenses, trim price discounts, increase warehouse automation, and improve the efficiency of its order delivery system.

PayPal (PYPL) has continued to make more investments in India since it launched domestic operations in the country last year.

Alphabet is set to release its 1Q18 results on April 26, 2018.

Alphabet’s (GOOGL) Google recently inked new deals to boost its renewable energy profile, Bloomberg has reported.

Alibaba’s (BABA) war on fake goods on its marketplaces has been widely criticized as being weak or lacking direction.

Snap stated that its worldwide ARPU for 2Q17 was $1.05, implying 109% growth over 2Q16.

Amazon plans to spend $5.0 billion to build its business in India.

Facebook posted a net profit of $4.7 billion in 3Q17, an increase of 79% YoY year-over-year.

Alibaba and US-based vehicle manufacturer Ford have inked a deal that would see them cooperate in areas including retail and cloud computing.

Amazon (AMZN) has a brand new Echo smart speaker called Echo Show. Including Echo Show, there are now five variants of Echo-branded products.

Alibaba (BABA) reported total revenues of ~$7.4 billion (or 50.2 billion yuan) for fiscal 1Q18. Compared with fiscal 1Q17, its revenues for the latest quarter rose 56%.

In early June, Google (GOOGL) released a set of principles intended to guide the use of its AI technologies in response to internal backlash.

In Alibaba’s (BABA) upcoming fiscal 2Q18 report, investor attention will probably be focused not only on its top-line figure but also on the quality of its top-line growth.

Without admitting wrongdoing, Facebook (FB) agreed to pay $35 million to settle claims that it had misled investors in the run-up to its IPO (initial public offering) in 2012.

Business intelligence firm eMarketer estimates that CPG brands spent more than $7.0 billion on digital advertising in 2017, compared with $6.0 billion in 2016.

For the first time ever, Square (SQ) posted a quarterly net profit of $20 million in the third quarter of 2018.

While Snap’s recent steep stock decline may worry investors, historical IPO data show that first-week and first-year performances following an IPO usually have little bearing on the long-term prospects of a company.

As a result of its active customer base, PayPal reported that its total payment volume for 2Q17 rose 23% year-over-year to $106.4 billion.

In its latest economic outlook report, Yelp (YELP) stated that Charleston, South Carolina, recorded the fastest increase in the number of local businesses in 4Q17.

Facebook’s (FB) Marketplace product seems to have come of age, now contributing to the company’s top line.

In November, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that enhancing Facebook’s safety and security was more important than enhancing its profits.