Google driving towards growth

Google driving towards growth

Google, which has become synonymous with search, has been engaged in a deep and intensive search of its own, the search for growth. The company, though performing well and with a rather constant revenue growth, has nonetheless regularly disappointed investors.

Google has been criticized for focusing primarily on ads for its revenue and for failing to diversify its income base from other sources. As a result, the company has embarked on an unprecedented hunt for new frontiers for its business, hunting for a source that will drive its growth, and it thinks it’s finally found one. Google’s new focus? Making the most of our “drive time”.

Sound simple enough, yet the idea of Google tapping into this massive market and leveraging its search capabilities with Google-designed self-driving cars and integrated android platforms for existing cars has the potential to be exceptionally lucrative for Google and may indeed be a strong driver, no pun intended, for the company’s growth.

Google in the Driver’s Seat

f you have ever watched the movie “I, Robot” you might have thought how awesome it would be to own a self-driving car that effortlessly and safely took you where you needed to go while you relaxed, listened to music or even took a nap. Science fiction is wonderful, but it’s still just fiction. Until now, that is. Google has just announced that it has built a self-driving car, one that is fully autonomous and completely designed and built by Google and its team. In the Google Car, a driver becomes a rider. There is no steering wheel, no gas pedal and no brakes; instead there are sensors that help the driving mechanism navigate its environment.

One rider who critiqued the Google electric car likened it to a theme-park ride (perhaps like the one found in the Jurassic Park movie) complete with interactive controls via a SmartPhone. Though the car’s current speed tops out at 25 mph, once proven safe, that could improve to 100 mph. Google hopes to put its car on the road, a real road with human drivers, within the next few years.

While drivers will have to wait a while for the Google car, they can still make good use of Android Auto, Google’s software for Google Voice and Google Maps, which can already be integrated into certain cars including Volvo and Honda. A USB micro connection can turn your car into a “SmartCar” via your SmartPhone and you can control certain of your car’s basic operations like FM radio, Bluetooth phone connections and climate control. While Google’s Android Auto is currently only a hard-wired option, Google developers are already working on a wireless version. What the Google Car and Android Auto means is that there is an exciting new frontier ahead for car aficionados and drivers, not to mention for Google investors.

Finding Returns

Google faces challenging times: although the buzz around the stock is still elevated and its latest auto-venture could certainly pave the way for strong stock returns, the sensitivity of the stock may also be high amid fears that great expectations could lead to deep disappointments.

This is why it’s important to keep an eye on the buzz and the earnings results from Google over the next quarter. How can you keep pace with all the data and decide whether Google’s growth engine is set to accelerate and shift gears or come to a screeching halt? One way would be to check out two of our traders that have, thus far, been able to ride the Google stock price and bring in great returns.

Stephane Morais, thus far, has gained a 28.72% return from Google even as disappointment looms. The other trader we’d like to highlight is Iride Rosignoli, also known for his Facebook investments, who has thus fur yielded 9.18% on Google, a very strong performance.

So will the Google car drive the stock to stronger returns? Time will tell but if you are looking for two traders that know how to ride the stock’s momentum, those two might just be on your radar.

Article Written By: Abby Tsype