.png){kind=logo}
As Google prepares to report its Q2 earnings on October 29, prominent tech investor Gene Munster of Deepwater Asset Management has sent a reassuring message to shareholders: “Search is doing fine.”
In a note to investors published on X, Munster referenced recent comments by Google Search head Liz Reid during The Wall Street Journal’s ‘Bold Names’ podcast. Reid highlighted that Google’s AI Overviews, built into Search earlier this year, have been fueling increased user engagement.
Munster further added, “Any comments a company makes on the eve of reporting earnings should be given more weight,” suggesting Reid’s positivity was not an accident. “Her message two weeks ago, before earnings, was that AI is positively impacting Search.”
As Munster’s note stated, Reid admitted that competition from AI competitors, specifically Microsoft’s Bing with ChatGPT, has driven the greatest change in Search market share in more than 15 years.
The tech investor read her words as both a thank-you to shareholders and a veiled warning to regulators. “She’s reminding shareholders the world has changed, and regulators Google’s monopoly isn’t as unstoppable as it appears,” he said.
Reid described the moment as a ‘profound shift’ in how users employ Search, words, Munster pointed out, that create ‘the substance of Google’s antitrust defense.’
Also Read: Google to Set up $15B AI Hub in Andhra Pradesh, PM Modi Sends Best Wishes
Munster is looking for Google’s Search revenue to gain 11.7% in the September quarter, a hair above Wall Street’s 11.2% expectation. Despite tougher year-over-year comparisons, he thinks Google will maintain a market share of more than 85%, even if it falls from its current 90%.
He also expects whirlwind growth for Google’s new AI Mode, which he estimates brought in more than 100 million monthly users in June before more than doubling to over 300 million in September, an indicator that Google’s AI integration strategy is proving lucrative.
