For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – March 8, 2022 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: Alphabet
GOOGL
, Spotify
SPOT
, Amazon
AMZN
and Apple
AAPL
.
Here are highlights from Monday’s Analyst Blog:
GOOGL Boosts Podcast Efforts: Should SPOT, AMZN and AAPL Worry?
Podcasts are persistently gaining momentum in the streaming world on the back of the rising demand for audio broadcasting content and the growing proliferation of music streaming apps.
The increasing trend of online educational training also continues to boost the demand for podcasts.
Per a
report
by Research and Markets, the global podcasting market is expected to reach $94.9 billion by 2028, witnessing a CAGR of 31.1% between 2021 and 2028.
Given the upbeat scenario,
Alphabet
’s division Google is consistently making advances in the podcast category in order to expand its presence in the audio streaming market.
This is evident from its latest initiative in which YouTube is providing grants of $50-300 thousand for individual shows and podcast networks to support podcasters get equipment, video editors and studio setup needed to make podcasts with better video content.
The initiative is expected to help Google expand its reach to podcasters and strengthen its content library, which, in turn, will help it attract more users to YouTube.
We note that the latest move ramps up Google’s efforts in the music streaming space. This is expected to help it gain a competitive edge against its peers, including
Spotify
,
Amazon
and
Apple
, which are some of the major players in the streaming market.
More Into GOOGL’s Stance on Podcasts
In addition to YouTube, the company provides podcasts of different genres on Android and iOS through its app Google Podcasts, which is compatible with Google Search and Google Assistant.
The app was recently updated on Android to provide simplified navigation and usability tweaks. The initiative is an effort to offer an enhanced user experience.
For a search capability, the company offers index and transcribes episodes on Google Podcasts.
Alphabet Inc. price-consensus-chart
|
Alphabet Inc. Quote
Here’s How SPOT, AMZN & AAPL Are Placed
GOOGL’s growing initiatives are anticipated to intensify the competition in the podcast category. Currently, Google’s parent Alphabet carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see
the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here
.
Nevertheless, Spotify, Amazon and Apple are also making concerted efforts in this category to expand their user base.
Spotify, currently carrying a Zacks Rank #3, has been gaining traction among customers with its growing initiatives. The company expanded its podcast publishing and advertising platform, Megaphone, in Germany, France, Spain and Italy to help local publishers create, distribute and monetize their podcast content.
SPOT’s recent acquisitions of two podcast technology companies, Podsights and Chartable, for advancing podcast measurement capabilities for advertisers remain other positives.
Spotify Technology price-consensus-chart
|
Spotify Technology Quote
Meanwhile, Amazon, also carrying a Zacks Rank #3 at present, provides podcasts through its music streaming platform, Amazon Music. Moreover, the company is gaining momentum among users with its Original-branded podcasts.
AMZN recently introduced podcasts for users in Canada, which will enable listeners to enjoy top podcasts free of cost. Customers of Amazon Music have the accessibility to podcasts in the Amazon Music app for iOS and Android. The app is also compatible with Amazon Echo devices to provide an enhanced user experience.
Amazon.com, Inc. price-consensus-chart
|
Amazon.com, Inc. Quote
Then again, Apple Podcasts, which is compatible with Siri, allows customers to listen to the premium content of their favorite creators through subscription. The company also provides millions of free shows on its platform.
AAPL’s introduction of the Apple Podcasts for Creators website remains noteworthy as it helps creators learn more about podcasting and stay informed about recent features related to this field.
Additionally, the Apple Podcasts Connect dashboard provides new features for seamlessly managing shows on Apple Podcasts, which is a tailwind. Notably, Apple currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Apple Inc. price-consensus-chart
|
Apple Inc. Quote
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Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss
.
This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit
https://www.zacks.com/performance
for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.
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