Alphabet Inc. ($GOOGL) - Deep Dive
Alphabet's Google Cloud swung from a $3.1 billion operating loss in 2021 to $13.9 billion profit in 2025 as Search revenue grew 13.2%.
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Meta's "True" ROIC, and Some Notes from Meta and Alphabet's 10-Qs
Meta’s adjusted LTM ROIC is in the mid-50s after excluding $80 billion of construction in progress; that capacity will lower returns as AI…
Meta: 2Q26 Business Update
Meta's 2Q26 revenue rose 27%, but capex, depreciation and nascent cloud and AI ambitions raise margin and return risks as it maximizes…
Amazon 2Q'26: AWS Gets the Love
Amazon’s AWS grew 37% to a $169 billion run rate in 2Q’26, while North America retail margins fell excluding a $600 million tariff refund.
Meta 2Q'26: Not Amazing, Not Bad, and Still Compelling
Meta’s Q2 2026 revenue beat was offset by one-off costs and softer guidance, while generative ad ranking lifted conversions and Family of…
BDC on X
I know I was poking some fun at $META last night but I think its a buy here in all seriousness. Not advice. But lots of ways to win in the end. Not advice, do own DD etc. I could be wrong.
Raging Capital Ventures on X
$META’s platform engagement is incredibly robust and healthy with a deep product pipeline. The business is fine. I understand the capex debate, and clearly the biz is today more capital intensive, but I’m sure Zuck will make the right decisions in the end. Weakness is likely a buying opportunity.
BDC on X
...."but we might not take the offer bc we have all these reasons to use the compute internally even though we missed ad revs" (basically) $meta https://t.co/ozJ63qcFIL
Entravision: Another Whale Has Emerged
Entravision’s Q1 filings contain a new footnote disclosure pointing to a potential second large advertiser beyond its Hong Kong customer,…
Raging Capital Ventures on X
The capex spend is mind boggling, but I held my nose and bought $META today around $590-600 I don’t how the AI bet will shake out, but I do know that… - $META Reels is sucking up engagement share from everyone, even $NFLX - $GOOG search refers are in free fall, which should benefit $META’s ad network - Zuck is the best owner-operator in the business who is willing to pivot if necessary - There are tremendous AI cost efficiency opps in core $META operations (Note: I have a long and fruitful history with $META and my family members still own their shares going back to 2013, knock on wood)
BDC on X
Remember the good ole days when covering internet meant you just needed to have a view on: - If $GOOGL Search was going to accelerate or decelerate and what the opex was likely to be - $META fxn ad revs...how big a beat? Opex? - $NFLX are they going to beat on subs? - $AMZN AWS to accelerate? How much? Margins? EBIT guide? - $BKNG room nights ! I started my career covering these companies and a bunch of other internets....at that time capex was not something we cared about bc it didn't matter. It was a simpler time.
BDC on X
Good point here re how OBBB flatters cash flow. $GOOGL https://t.co/MkSPZ5NNOZ
PAA Research on X
To me, $GOOG faces a "red queen scenario" or a "pyrrhic victory". For the moment, it appears I'm not the only one that shares that sentiment. 13% paid click growth was solid in 2Q26, but CPC slowed to 3% YOY. Not a huge deal, but warrants close attention. I still think we see massive deceleration on paid clicks. Then what?
BDC on X
Ok so $GOOGL says: -capex materially higher -Q3 cloud margins lower due to 3P capacity used at higher cost -search revs to slow on tougher comp -ambiguous word salad wrt to capex ROIC -ATM not used yet (maybe that's a mistake?) -No buyback in the Q
Ian Bezek on X
@sequentanalyst @moneyandmore72 Fundsmith bought $app? Terry Smith must be rolling over in his grave.
$FOX dropped 25% buying $ROKU. Is the market wrong? | Simeon McMillan, Accrued Interest
Fox’s $22 billion Roku deal cut FOXA 25%, but Simeon McMillan argues Roku’s streaming-TV reach, advertising upside and synergies make the…
The Biggest Bull Signal On Entravision
Entravision’s lost Meta relationship reset its business model, setting up a bullish case for the company’s recovery.
PAA Research on X
Good question. As I mentioned, all of my checks suggest they're gaining wallet share with small businesses at the expense of $GOOG. There are other big issues around regulatory recourse, stalling user growth in an increasing number of markets, and of course capital allocation. The multiple reflects the magnitude of unknowns or lack of visibility. Changing that to some degree would be a start.
Mike on X
$META probably can serve more tactical ads if you know exactly what each user is willing to put money on (aka is paying attention to) in the moment! https://t.co/9DnpLAIS4i
PAA Research on X
In the case of $GOOG, Adwords, which in my view is the greatest business model ever created is now being replaced by something quite different and considerably worse. In the case of $META, there's a long list. I don't share your view of the caliber of that business even while I recognize the considerable ad share gains they continue to get. The toxicity of the platform matters greatly if you're thinking of this business in any kind of longer term context.
PAA Research on X
I've been short $META for a while as I mentioned in previous posts. I'm fully aware that $META has been benefitting in continued shift of ad dollars away from $GOOG (I'm also short $GOOG) as we transition away from the SEO/SEM world to AEO/GEO. However, nothing can mess up a good fundamental story like poor capital allocation and Zuck and co. have demonstrated time and time again that they're willing to pull defeat from the jaws of victory. This latest effort to go and compete with Kalshi, polymarket, and even the traditional broker/dealers to get into betting markets is just another example. Betting markets doesn't represent the existential risk to the biz like AI does, why even consider getting into this now? Based on chatter about their upcoming AI model updates, it seems CAPEX at $META is poised to go way up, yet again. Will the street like that? I guess if their latest model is Mythos quality or better, maybe it will be tolerated. Maybe, but probably not. What is it about Zuck that he feels the need to be all things to all people? Does he not understand the strengths of his own business or is he worried about the duration of those strengths? Maybe it's just ultimate hubris. Either way, at some point soon he probably pulls the reigns back as the market continues to penalize $META for the absurdities of their capital incineration.
The Arithmetic: How a $9 Spanish-Language Broadcaster Becomes a $100 AdTech Stock
Entravision’s path from a $9 Spanish-language broadcaster to a $100 adtech stock rests on an adtech-driven valuation model.
Broken Moats on X
Like the $MGNI story (from lower levels, less so at current pricing albeit still cheap) their seat in the ecosystem looks to be consolidating - TTD has real issue but put the pairs trade aside do you have concerns about the CFO departure at MGNI, the insider selling (not trivial), and the risks from ai on their business ex ctv?
PAA Research on X
Quick thoughts on the $GOOG raise: 1) Management is old enough to remember when this stock traded at much lower multiples for YEARS, good time to raise capital and it's not that much relative to the market cap. 2) The demands of data center build out/token cost are even more insatiable than we thought (see $HPE, $DELL, or the $NVDA overnight news) 3) Profitability/cash flow could be headed lower in a meaningful way at some point in the not too distant future for the search business. This is the most important take away IMO. Someone explain to me how you take the greatest business model ever created in Search/Adwords where you have 90% share and replace it with LLM's/AEO, while somehow maintaining the same profitability. The structural economics are WORSE and market share is materially worse. Search traffic is DOWN in many categories and that will only get worse from here as consumers engage with #openAI, #claude, #gemini at higher rates. Honestly, I don't know why this isn't the primary narrative around $GOOG currently. I'm sure there are people that will have different perspectives on this, but ask around to people that rely on search. Volumes are down in many areas already.
