Google

Is Google Fi Worth It?

by
project-fi-coverage-review

I’ve had Google’s new cell phone service, called Fi, for just over a year now, and I’ve had a chance to get a good feel for it, as well as what I used to pay, and what various people pay now. So, is Google’s Project Fi a good deal, or is it not worth it? Google Fi Service The service you get from Google’s Fi cellphone service is a blend. First, in order to use the service, you have to use specific devices like a Nexus 5x, a Nexus 6P, or the new Google Pixel phones. If you buy them direct from Google and the Google Fi store, then your customer service comes from Google. This is a good thing. If not, your service comes from wherever you bought your phone. I’ve had a couple of chances to use Google’s customer service on the Google Fi platform. First, I dropped my phone and cracked the screen. (I firmly believe that the first phone company to produce a high-end phone with a user replaceable screen will own the market until everyone else catches up.) I have the device protection plan through Google Fi (more on that later), so I called up …

Read More

Tender Offer ADT Shares

by
tender offer adt

I still have to write up my big Webull review (it goes along with my Public, Wealthfront, Robinhood reviews), but suffice to say that during my test of Webull I was granted one share of ADT Inc. stock as part of my “You may receive one share of any stock up to Apple and Microsoft and really awesome stocks that you want to own… <in fine print> or a sucky one valued at at least $4.” Hey, free is free, right? So, it was with some confusion that I received a Time Critical – Must Respond letter from Webull Financial LLC in which they gave me no idea whatsoever what was going on, or why it was time critical. Since this is still Web 2.0, or whatever, they did provide a website where I could take one number from the top of the letter–and after some searching–a number from the bottom of the letter to log into what my wonderous offer might be. A Tender Offer The reason they sent me a letter is because I own shares (one share) of ADT stock. This is technically a tender offer under which I can sell my ADT stock for $9. On …

Read More

Is FAANG a Good Investment?

by
faang microsoft

Even if you’ve never heard of FAANG, chances are you have heard of all the stock components and maybe even contemplated an investment in one or more members, but is FAANG a good investment or bad investment? What Is FAANG? Let’s start from the beginning. FAANG stands for Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix and Google. As you can probably tell, these are very big, very well known, technology stocks. They are also frequent investments among investors who only invest in a few individual stocks, people often called Main Street investors (as opposed to Wall Street investors). One omission from the list is Microsoft, which is also a very large, very well known, technology company. Unlike the others, however, Microsoft’s stock is not well loved by Wall Street investors and analysts, in large part due to its sideways performance from 2002 to 2013. While its stock has recently done well, it still doesn’t have the same shine, or flair as the others. Perhaps this makes it a less “noisy” investment with fewer fair-weather, amateur, investors? That’s an article for another day. For professional stock analysts and investors, FAANG represents a quick look at the “new” titans of American business. Each of these …

Read More

Google Lower Cost Per Click Doesn’t Matter

by

Google just reported its quarterly earnings. They did very well, beating pretty much every analyst’s numbers. Those who want to nitpick will complain that the price per click has gone down. However, that isn’t really surprising considering that the number of clicks went up. There are some issues coming with Google’s stock, but this isn’t one of them. Google Cost Per Click Down Google’s advertising model is based on advertisers paying either “per click” or “per impression.” Actually, advertisers pay per every thousand impressions, but that isn’t the point. Advertisers who pay using the per click model pay a certain amount each time someone clicks on their ad, but nothing if the ad goes unclicked. A smart online advertiser using the per click model will determine how much each click is worth. There can be many ways of determining this, and numerous intangibles are considered by some advertisers. However, the most simple concept would be something like this. Maximum payable cost per click = Amount of revenue generated per click / Number of clicks necessary to generate revenue. In other words, if you generate $1 per transaction (this is called a conversion) and it takes you 10 clicks to generate …

Read More

Is Groupon Public Yet?

by

Has Google Already Beating Groupon? Not long ago, Google offered to buy Groupon for $6 billion. Soon thereafter, Groupon did another round of private equity financing that essentially paid off company founders and early investors such that they have already locked in sizable gains. That might be a very good thing since Groupon seems to be in trouble before it even goes public. Update: Groupon has updated its IPO filing documents again. Follow the link for the latest. Groupon’s IPO Filing Groupon has already had to adjust the documents it originally filed in order to do an initial public offering (IPO) of stock. It de-emphasized a widely mocked financial metric that essentially didn’t count certain expenses. That isn’t a huge thing by itself, although it does potentially show what Groupon thinks of the sophistication level (or lack thereof) of those who would buy Groupon’s IPO. Groupon’s management took the somewhat controversial step of trying to comment on all the negative publicity its IPO has been getting by sending out a company-wide email to employees saying exactly the kinds of things that you aren’t allowed to say during the SEC mandated “quiet period” before a public offering. Of course, they were …

Read More

Google Posts Higher Than Expected 3rd Quarter Numbers – Is The Recession Over

by

To hear many of the newspapers and other media outlets tell it, Google’s blowout third quarter is the official signal that the recession is over and that businesses are spending again, because customers are spending again, and everything is fine again. The logic goes something like this. Google is not only the largest search engine, but it is also the largest provider of Internet advertising, particularly in America where its ad market share is something like 75% or so. Thus, Google acts as a bit of a proxy for the online advertising market in general. Online advertisers, then, spend money on online advertising only when, a) they have the money available to spend, and b) there are customers out there spending money to attract. So, theory is that since Google’s earnings came in above expectations, then that shows that advertisers are spending more money on online ads, which therefore means that more consumers are spending money online. That’s the idea, anyway. Google Is Not The Economy It is tempting to pronounce everything that Google does and everything that happens to Google as very important to major aspects of American life, including the overall business environment, and the U.S. economy. After …

Read More