Alphabet (GOOGL) Boosts Android Efforts With App Upgrades

Zacks Equity Research
·3-min read

Alphabet’s GOOGL shares have rallied 33.2% in the year-to-date period, outperforming the Zacks Computer & Technology sector’s growth of 28.7%. The company is benefiting from strong momentum in Google Services, mainly driven by Search, YouTube and Android.

Since Android is playing a vital role in driving Google Services prospects, the company is continuously expanding its Android app offerings in order to increase their adoption among users.

Per a 9to5Google report, Google recently upgraded the Locked Folder for Google Photos on Android.

With this new upgrade, a “Locked” option appears directly next to the Favorites, Archive and Trash options in the Google Photos app for much faster access.

The latest upgrade is expected to deliver an enhanced experience to Android users.

Year-to-Date Performance

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Growing Android Efforts Aid Growth

In addition to the Google Photos app, Google recently announced the wider availability of a new “Select recipients” user interface (UI) redesign for the Google Messages app on Android. The Google Messages UI now displays five recent conversations, a search button and a contact list.

Google introduced a new Notifications feature for another one of its Android apps, Google Wallet. The Wallet app now has six notification categories, namely, Tips, Purchases, Passes, Transit, Updates & Alerts, and Promotional Campaigns, allowing users to receive transaction notifications from Google Wallet directly instead of Google Play services.

The company also announced a feature on Google Maps that shows entrances for buildings to some select users, addressing the issue of navigating to specific building portions on the map. This feature is aimed at improving the user experience and ensuring accurate directions for businesses or locations.

Alphabet launched a free version of Magic Editor for Google Photos, allowing Android users to manipulate images, resize and erase parts, apply background pre-sets and select with tap, circle, or brush.

It also introduced a “Lookup” reverse number shortcut feature on the Google Phone app on Pixel devices, further bolstering its Android app offerings.

Strengthening Android capabilities is expected to drive the performance of the Google Services segment, which, in turn, will contribute to the overall financial performance of the company in the near term.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2024 total revenues stands at $291.26 billion, indicating year-over-year growth of 13.6%.

The consensus mark for 2024 earnings is pegged at $7.60 per share, indicating a 31.03% rise from the year-ago figure. The figure has been revised upward by 0.4% in the past 60 days.

Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider

Currently, Alphabet carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Some better-ranked stocks in the broader technology sector are Arista Networks ANET, Garmin GRMN and Apple AAPL, each carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Arista Networks’ shares have gained 42.1% in the year-to-date period. The long-term earnings growth rate for ANET is 16.07%.

Garmin’s shares have gained 26.6% in the year-to-date period. The long-term earnings growth rate for GRMN is currently projected at 8.04%.

Apple shares have gained 20.1% in the year-to-date period. The long-term earnings growth rate for AAPL is 12.48%.

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