Core Viewpoint - Belgium's competition watchdog has initiated an investigation into Google's online advertising practices, indicating potential antitrust violations due to the company's market power abuse [1] Group 1: Investigation Details - The investigation is in its preliminary phase, and the outcome remains uncertain [1] - The competition authorities have stated there are "serious indications" of breaches of antitrust rules by Google [1] Group 2: Context and Background - Google is already facing multiple antitrust investigations from the European Union and has incurred fines amounting to billions of euros for similar violations in recent years [1] - Recently, Google warned advertisers about the risk of another antitrust investigation by the European Commission concerning the potential inflation of online advertising prices [1] Group 3: Market Position - Google holds a dominant position in the multibillion-dollar online advertising market, claiming that its Search ads support small businesses in competing with larger brands and contribute to keeping the web accessible [1]

Group 1 - A Russian court has fined Alphabet's Google 22 million roubles ($288,000) for distributing VPN services on the Google Play app store [1] - The VPN services allow Russian users to access foreign tech platforms and content that are banned or restricted in Russia [1]

Ac t i o n | 16 Feb 2026 20:54:33 ET │ 18 pages NVIDIA Corp (NVDA.O) Preview – Investors Looking Past Earnings to GTC 2026 CITI'S TAKE NVIDIA reports Jan-Q earnings on 2/25. We model Jan-Q sales of $67B above Street $65.6B and expect Apr-Q guide of $73B vs Street $71.6B. We expect continued strong ramp of B300 with Rubin launch to drive a 34% H/H acceleration in CY2H26 sales vs 27% in CY1H26. We believe most investors are looking past the earnings to annual GTC conference in mid- March for NVIDIA to talk ab ...

Ac t i o n | Google TPU sales to grow 4x or ~$65B by FY27 — We model FY26/27 AI revenues of $63B/$102B driven by better-than-expected TPU ramps. We believe AVGO's five announced customers are Google, Meta, Bytedance, Anthropic and Fujitsu based on supply chain discussions, while its two additional engagements are with OpenAI and Apple. Gross margin dilution from Anthropic rack shipments — Given Anthropic's estimated ~$10B rack sales in 2H26 and ~$11B in 1H27 (per AVGO), which we assume ~55% gross margins, w ...

Core Insights - Google and Sea Ltd have formed a strategic partnership to develop AI tools for e-commerce and gaming, specifically focusing on creating an AI agentic shopping prototype for Sea's Shopee platform [1] - This collaboration is part of a broader trend among global tech firms to monetize AI capabilities beyond basic functions, aiming to enhance various tasks including shopping and workflow management [1] - Shopee holds a dominant position in Southeast Asia's e-commerce market with a 52% market share in 2024, indicating significant competitive strength [1] E-commerce Developments - The partnership will explore the development of AI tools specifically for Shopee, enhancing the shopping experience through advanced AI capabilities [1] - Competitor Alibaba has also introduced a new AI model aimed at the e-commerce sector, highlighting the competitive landscape in Southeast Asia [1] Gaming Sector Innovations - Google and Sea's gaming unit, Garena, will leverage AI solutions to improve productivity in game development, indicating a focus on innovation within the gaming industry [1] - This collaboration follows a previous partnership between Shopee and YouTube, emphasizing the ongoing integration of technology and e-commerce [1]

Core Insights - Aye Finance's IPO was highly successful, closing with a 97% subscription rate, and is set to list on February 16 [1] - The IPO included a fresh issue of shares worth ₹710 Cr and an offer-for-sale (OFS) component of up to ₹300 Cr, valuing the company at approximately ₹3,183 Cr (about $351.4 million) at the upper end of its price band [7] Investor Gains - MAJ Invest emerged as the biggest cash gainer, selling 1.08 million shares for ₹139.7 Cr, achieving a 1.7X return on its initial investment [2][5] - LGT Capital Partners recorded the highest return on investment at 2.4X by offloading 2.325 million shares worth ₹30 Cr, while retaining 2.47 Cr shares valued at ₹319.8 Cr [3][5] - CapitalG, the growth fund of Alphabet Inc, sold 63.95 lakh shares for ₹82.5 Cr, realizing a 2.2X gain on its investment [8] - Alpha Wave sold 23.25 lakh shares for ₹30 Cr, achieving a 1.4X return on its initial investment [9] Company Performance - Aye Finance, co-founded by Vikram Jetley and Sanjay Sharma in 2014, specializes in small-ticket business loans for MSMEs [10] - The company's total assets under management reached ₹6,027.6 Cr as of September 2025, reflecting a 21% year-over-year growth [10] - In H1 FY26, Aye Finance's net profit declined by 40% to ₹64.6 Cr from ₹106.8 Cr in the previous year, while operating revenue increased by 21.8% year-over-year to ₹843.5 Cr [11]

Core Insights - Alphabet Inc's recent global bond sale highlights strong investor demand for major AI hyperscalers, indicating confidence in the sector's growth potential [1] - The bond sale has raised concerns regarding the lack of protections for existing and future debt holders, which could pose risks for investors [1] Group 1 - The bond sale reflects a high level of interest from investors in AI-related companies, suggesting a bullish outlook on the industry [1] - Concerns have been raised about the structural protections of the debt, which may not adequately safeguard the interests of current and future bondholders [1]

Core Viewpoint - The European Commission is investigating Google for potentially anti-competitive practices in its search advertising auctions, specifically regarding the artificial inflation of auction clearing prices to the detriment of advertisers [1]. Group 1: Investigation Details - EU antitrust regulators are focusing on Google's auction practices for search advertisements in Europe [1]. - The investigation is based on indications of concerns about how Google may be manipulating auction prices [1]. Group 2: Implications for Advertisers - The European Commission's findings suggest that advertisers may be adversely affected by Google's practices, leading to higher costs for advertising [1].

Ac t i o n | 05 Feb 2026 02:43:33 ET │ 19 pages Alphabet Inc (GOOGL.O) Search and Cloud Growth Reaccelerate Y/Y on AI Demand as Margins Expand, though '26E CapEx Materially Higher CITI'S TAKE With Search and Other revenue growth accelerating to +17% Y/Y, Cloud growth accelerating to +48% Y/Y, and margins expanding, we emerge from 4Q25 results incrementally positive on shares of Google. With daily AI-Mode queries in the U.S. doubling since launch (March '25) and Gemini now at 750M MAUs, we believe consumers ...

Google's latest quarterly report provided further evidence that its internet empire is withstanding an artificial intelligence shakeup that's turning into another potential boon for the company.The numbers released on Wednesday marked Google's third consecutive quarter of digital ad growth of more than 10 per cent from the previous year, while also posting more than 30 per cent sales growth in its division that powers data centres for AI services.Those increases during the October-December period propelled ...