YouTube slowdown in Russia darkens freedom of speech outlook
Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst
Updated: Aug 08 2024
0mins
Source: Reuters
YouTube's Role in Russia: YouTube has become a crucial platform for opposition voices in Russia, especially after the suppression of independent media; however, recent reports indicate significant outages and slowdowns, which Russian lawmakers attribute to Google's lack of infrastructure investment since the Ukraine invasion.
Government Censorship and Alternatives: The Russian government is increasingly using its own traffic management tools to control internet access, with concerns that blocking YouTube could lead to widespread backlash due to its popularity, while domestic alternatives like VK Video may not effectively replace it for political content creators.
Analyst Views on GOOGL
Wall Street analysts forecast GOOGL stock price to rise over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for GOOGL is 338.25 USD with a low forecast of 279.00 USD and a high forecast of 390.00 USD. However, analyst price targets are subjective and often lag stock prices, so investors should focus on the objective reasons behind analyst rating changes, which better reflect the company's fundamentals.
34 Analyst Rating
27 Buy
7 Hold
0 Sell
Strong Buy
Current: 330.540
Low
279.00
Averages
338.25
High
390.00
Current: 330.540
Low
279.00
Averages
338.25
High
390.00
About GOOGL
Alphabet Inc. is a holding company. The Company's segments include Google Services, Google Cloud, and Other Bets. The Google Services segment includes products and services such as ads, Android, Chrome, devices, Google Maps, Google Play, Search, and YouTube. The Google Cloud segment includes infrastructure and platform services, collaboration tools, and other services for enterprise customers. Its Other Bets segment is engaged in the sale of healthcare-related services and Internet services. Its Google Cloud provides enterprise-ready cloud services, including Google Cloud Platform and Google Workspace. Google Cloud Platform provides access to solutions such as artificial intelligence (AI) offerings, including its AI infrastructure, Vertex AI platform, and Gemini for Google Cloud; cybersecurity, and data and analytics. Google Workspace includes cloud-based communication and collaboration tools for enterprises, such as Calendar, Gmail, Docs, Drive, and Meet.
About the author
Emily J. Thompson
Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.
