jbs

Google Sell-Off Offers Opportunity

Are they building a platform to boost earnings in the future?

Or will growth moderate, for a company this size?

Either growth will moderate (because of Google's size) or it will not moderate (because they are currently building a platform for future growth).

You can't have both.

How Google Slips To $100 a Share - And Stays There

Over time, generally speaking, competition causes profit margins to contract and revert to the mean. This is why it is important to analyze the competitive advantages of a given company. If there is a sustainable competitive advantage (or economic moat) then a company's margins won't contract as quickly.

Where am I going with this? You said:

"Google's margins are so high, it is easy to see how smaller rivals could come in to its markets."

Google has a competitive advantage (the reason it has high margins), a significant one: technology that was developed by the world's best engineers over several years. Also, their brand provides a competitive advantage, simply because when you say online advertising, I think Google.

So although I agree they have high margins and they will decline over time. They won't decline because of small competitors, but the majors.

In the Current Print Media Reshuffle, Only the Strong Will Survive

I've spent quite some time thinking about how this industry will evolve. It's too early to call, but one thing I know for sure:

There will be consolidation - and it is the companies with the <b>best content</b> (and differentiated content) and the most <b>effective ways of getting that content to readers</b> that will thrive. (These points are in addition to companies being able to attract readers and building an appealing brand).

Getting a little off topic... Among advertisers there's a shift toward targeting increasingly specific target markets. Newspapers have a harder time adapting to this shift because their readers are diverse, in most cases. So I believe it is the publications with a well-defined readership that will attract more advertising dollars.

Why I'm Incapable Of Buying Google

I find these types of comparisons amusing. GOOG, WMT, and GM are so different that any comparison between them has very little value.

BUT, I admire the author's inability to be swayed by the crowd. At the end of the day it's the informed investors who believe in their decision-making abilities who will make money.

I don't understand or have a particular interest in investing in WMT, GOOG, or GM (at this time). It just seems to me that there are so many better opportunities out there right now... especially in the recent spinoffs and the companies that fly under the radar of Wall Street.

I have no problem being a contrarian, which is why I think I respect the author's opinions on GOOG and GM.

Today's Tech Market: Branding Is the Name of the Game

What baffles my mind is the lack of branding Microsoft has done. To me, Microsoft is a word, not a brand. When I hear it I don't associate it with "reliable, established, innovative" or other descriptors with which Microsoft could (and probably should) be associated. Instead, one word comes to mind: monopoly.

Everyone knows Microsoft. The brand awareness is impressive. Now all they need is to use that awareness to help position the brand in the minds of customers in a way that benefits Microsoft.

You bring up a valid point about how Microsoft's name can't even be seen on the Zune. I assume this is because the company wants to lose its image as a monopoly. Instead of trying to ditch the image (which they can never do, because people are very much aware Zune is a Microsoft product), they should use the Zune and their other offerings to shift the brand position away from "monopoly" and toward something much more beneficial to the company.

They have a well recognized name and there's no reason why they can't better position and leverage it.