Google CEO Eric Schmidt couldn’t be any clearer: He’s been saying, over and over, that he thinks the recession is in his company’s rear-view mirror. And Wall Street has been listening: It has been steadily pushing up the search giant’s shares for months. Today we get to find out just how good Google’s growth story is.
Google and Yahoo both expect mobile ads to provide big boosts. Time to rethink that notion, says Bernstein Research’s Jeffrey Lindsay, who says mobile will be a modest niche business for the big guys.
Wal-Mart is the world’s biggest retailer, but online, it’s still a relative piker. Now the company is trying to change that by opening up its Web store to other retailers–just as its biggest competitors already do. But no need for Amazon and eBay to start sweating just yet.
When the economy cratered last fall, even mighty Google was forced to pull back on spending: The company stopped growing its workforce and put several big expensive projects on hold. But that’s likely to change, predicts Bernstein analyst Jeffrey Lindsay. He says that while Google is on track to shell out $1.4 billion on capital expenditures this year, that number will shoot up up more than 40 percent next year, to $2 billion. And if Google doesn’t get a grip on YouTube, that number could keep growing.
Are you one of those Kindle owners who stuffs your device with cheap e-books? Enjoy it now, say analysts at Bernstein Research. Because they’re not going to stay cheap, or at least, not quite as cheap, forever. Right now Amazon makes much more money selling you a hardcover book than a digital one. That can’t go on indefinitely.
Web video watchers are college kids who spend all day pirating movies and TV shows, right? Well, maybe some of them are, but new survey data argues ordinary Americans are plenty comfortable watching TV online, especially when they don’t have any other choice.
YouTube generates billions of views but no profits. That’s because Google’s video site only sells advertising on a small portion of the clips it shows. That may be changing, argues Bernstein Research’s Jeffrey Lindsay.
Let’s get this out of the way in advance: When Google delivers its first-quarter report card today, it will likely mark the first time the search giant sees revenue decline from one quarter to the next. So that’s a big deal. But it has also been expected for some time now. So what should you be looking for this afternoon?
The online ticket resale business–what most people would call legalized scalping–seems like a pretty decent market. But Ticketmaster may be getting out of it in order to mollify regulators, and an analyst predicts Ebay may do the same to please Wall Street.
Can’t wait for the debut of Kindle 2.0, which should arrive around 10 a.m. this morning in New York? Here’s a splash of cold water, courtesy of Jeffrey Lindsay: The Bernstein Research analyst says Amazon’s much hyped e-book reader is merely a “niche product”–and that the e-commerce giant wants to keep it that way.
Also, look for MediaMemo’s liveblog of the Kindle event soon.
Peter Kafka has been covering media and technology since 1997, when he joined the staff of Forbes magazine. Most recently, he has been the managing editor of the tech and media Web site, Silicon Alley Insider. Read more »
Here is a statement of my ethics and coverage policies. It is more than most of you want to know, but, in the age of suspicion of the media, I am laying it all out.
D is unlike any other executive conference. Since its debut in 2003, D has brought to life the energy and excitement of the digital revolution in an unscripted, upfront and unparalleled way. Read more »
Don't miss a post! Sign up for our Daily Email and get AllThingsD.com delivered each day.
Get columns, blogs and video from D and All Things Digital on your iPhone. Download now »
