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The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Alphabet, Apple, Fitbit and Facebook

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – November 11, 2019 – 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, Apple AAPL, Fitbit FIT and Facebook FB.

Here are highlights from Friday’s Analyst Blog:

Alphabet’s Fitbit Acquisition Should Get Regulatory Approval

Rick Osterloh, Senior Vice President of Devices and Services announced last week that Alphabet was in a definitive agreement with Fitbit to acquire the company. It was later ascertained that it was dishing out $7.35 a share or $2.1 billion.

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So why on earth would Alphabet want to acquire a company, which is struggling to compete with giant market leader Apple. Fitbit was a pioneer in the space and market leader for a long time and people liked it for its simplicity and privacy. Then along came Apple with a more complex “smartwatch” that it was able to quickly popularize, especially amongst its captive user base.

Apple has no real competition here, commanding nearly 50% market share on the strength of its ownership of all the building blocks necessary in both hardware and software. It also knows its customers well enough to bring artificial intelligence (AI) into the mix.

A distant second in the space is Fitbit, followed by other players like Samsung, Fossil, LG, and so on. Consolidation started after Apple entered the space because it was obvious that none of the companies making the market had its deep intellectual property or its equally deep pockets. The only player that could have made a difference was Samsung, but the attempt to focus on its own Tizen OS spoilt things.

How Could Alphabet Change Things?

Alphabet is another very deep-pocketed player, one of the very few that can actually stand up to Apple. The company is also deeply invested in artificial intelligence. So Fitbit with its 28 million users worth of data is a very good fit. Also, Fitbit gets a big brother that can help it reach many more users.

The wearables revolution, at least as far as the wrist band category is concerned, is currently being driven by health tracking. So in order to differentiate, you need to offer not just the hardwar and software chops that Google is acquiring but also the scale and AI power that Fitbit lacked.

True that Fitbit owners may not be thrilled today, but my guess is that story will change when their devices become much more useful. Alphabet’s Google has the technological platform (Android, smartphone, chromecast, smart display, Nest devices) that when added to Fitbit’s range (activity trackers, smartwatches, wireless headphones, smart scales) likely covers the full range of devices consumes are likely to use through the day. So Google Assistant can work across devices for a very personalized experience.

Also, between them, Alphabet and Fitbit will now include technology from Pebble (which Fitbit acquired), Misfit (which first Fossil acquired and then Google bought from it), Fossil (which is partnered with Google on technology that isn’t yet public). So the deal will result in suitable competition for Apple.

Moreover, and as speculated by many, Alphabet will very likely use Fitbit technology in its own Pixel line of devices. In Devices and Services SVP Rick Osterloh’s words, this is “an opportunity to invest even more in Wear OS as well as introduce Made by Google wearable devices into the market.”

The Antitrust Issue

Google is currently under investigation by regulatory authorities in the U.S. and the EU and has also been fined by regulators in both regions. The data it has managed to collect on users across the world (except China) is unparalleled except perhaps by Facebook. So an acquisition that hands it even more data likely won’t go down well with anyone.

The Privacy Issue

And the data we’re talking about is highly sensitive health data that when combined with other data Google already has on people, will leave nothing to imagination. Will Google share this data with prospective employers perhaps, or prospective creditors, or any others who may be interested in additional information on us before they transact with us? Boggles the mind.

Both Fitbit and Alphabet have given reassurances that the data won’t be sold to advertisers, so you won’t see ads based on it. But honestly, there’s still a ton of other uses.

Wrapping Up

Although regulators in the U.S. and EU have already expressed concerns, it’s hard to see how they can stop the acquisition because it will increase competition in the space. You can’t after all tell people they don’t deserve a good experience simply because they don’t belong to the Apple ecosystem. And no one is talking about breaking up Apple yet.

Somehow, we’ve been convinced by technology companies that it’s a good idea to record our vital signs every second of every day. And to a certain extent, some scary numbers may get more people out of bed and on to the jogging track. They can also increase overall awareness on health issues. However, there’s also the danger that we’ll be tracking ourselves much more than we need to and worrying needlessly. And like it or not, this revolution is only getting started.

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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.

Click to get this free report Facebook, Inc. (FB) : Free Stock Analysis Report Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL) : Free Stock Analysis Report Apple Inc. (AAPL) : Free Stock Analysis Report Fitbit, Inc. (FIT) : Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research