Technology
Ahead of Earnings, Google’s Rivalry with Amazon Heats Up
In this Oct. 17, 2012, file photo, a man raises his hand during at Google offices in New York. People should have some say over the results that pop up when they conduct a search of their own name online, Europe’s highest court said Tuesday, May 13, 2014. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)
(CNet) – Even as it makes headlines by investing in fanciful projects including driverless cars and high-altitude balloons beaming out Wi-Fi service, Google can’t turn attention away from its ever-growing rivalry with Amazon.
In fact, earlier this week Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt shone the spotlight directly on it — he called Amazon, one of the world’s largest e-commerce providers, Google’s “biggest search competitor.” And on Tuesday, Google announced new pricing for its e-commerce delivery service Google Express.
“People don’t think of Amazon as search, but if you are looking for something to buy, you are more often than not looking for it on Amazon,” Schmidt said in a speech in Berlin.
Those are telling comments given that search is Google’s biggest moneymaker — turning Google into an almost $60 billion a year company. Wall Street will focus on Google’s core business when the company announces financial results on Thursday. Google is expected to announce third-quarter sales of $13.22 billion and profit of $6.33 a share, according to the average estimate of financial analysts polled by Thomson Reuters.
