We want to welcome in our next guest. That is Ally Moorabi, senior equity analyst at West Endon Capital Management. Ally, you can tell I'm coming off of a Thanksgiving holiday weekend here, mixing up the members of the Mag 7.Um, all right, let's talk about Alphabet Google. It is at the top of the leaderboard uh for the Mag 7 this year. Um, given its performance earlier this year, does this surprise you at all or no.Actually, Diane, um Diane, I I got to tell you, it doesn't surprise me. Um you know, we were ...

December was a seasonally strong month historically. What do you need to see after this week, November. >> Well, certainly all eyes are on the Fed.I think that's pretty clear. And, you know, I've been a voice that we're going to get this cut kind of through all the ups and downs. I think we are still going to get this cut.And I think that's going to be meaningful for a lot of the uh players in the market, particularly of course small caps, who we know suffer with uh higher interest rate burdens versus their ...

Core Viewpoint - The stock of Alphabet has experienced a significant recovery, doubling in value over the past six months, driven by strong fundamentals and a shift in market sentiment [1][2][3]. Company Fundamentals - Alphabet's fundamentals have remained consistent, contrasting with the recovery patterns seen in other tech stocks like Meta and Netflix, which were recovering from broken fundamentals [2]. - The company is positioned as a leader in AI, with a robust monetization strategy and the lowest cost infrastructure due to its vertical integration [4][5]. - There is an expectation of accelerating growth in search revenue, YouTube, and Google Cloud, with the latter projected to maintain growth in the mid-30% range [7]. Market Sentiment and Valuation - The market was overly negative on Alphabet six months ago, primarily due to concerns over the DOJ and competition from ChatGPT, leading to the stock being oversold at 15 times earnings [3]. - Currently, the stock is trading at 29 times earnings, but it is not considered overbought due to strong fundamentals [3][6]. - The narrative around Alphabet has shifted positively, with the company now seen as a high-quality compounder, similar to Meta [8]. Competitive Landscape - The competition from ChatGPT and OpenAI is acknowledged, with expectations of an ad model launch that could impact the market in the next few years, but it is not anticipated to affect Alphabet's revenue in the short term [7]. - The robo-taxi market is dominated by Alphabet, showcasing its innovative capabilities and market leadership [7].

Market Position & Challenges - Alphabet faces potential DOJ action that could lead to a breakup [1] - The company is in a competitive battle to defend its search business against ChatGPT [1] - Alphabet's stock is trading at a low multiple of approximately 20x forward earnings, compared to peers in the 40s [1] Business Performance & Valuation - YouTube reaches 2 billion people monthly and could be worth nearly $500 billion independently [3] - Search business is valued at $1.25 trillion [3] - Cloud business is valued at approximately half the value of the search business [3] - Sum-of-the-parts math suggests a potential $600 billion increase to Alphabet's value if broken up [3] Strategic Direction - Alphabet aims to maintain its sprawling empire, despite Wall Street's breakup valuation analysis [4] - Many of Alphabet's "moonshot" projects have not materialized, while growth engines like YouTube, Cloud, and Waymo remain under one umbrella [2]

Legal & Political Issues - President Trump is suing Dow Jones, publisher of the Wall Street Journal, and its reporters over a report about a vulgar birthday message to Jeffrey Epstein [2][5][6][7] - The lawsuit is for $10 billion [7] - The Justice Department is moving to unseal grand jury testimony from the Epstein criminal case following a request from President Trump [1][2][6][10][11] Crime & Law Enforcement - Three Los Angeles sheriff's deputies were killed in an explosion at a training facility involving military-type explosive devices [2][17][18] - A 17-year-old has been charged with the murder of Sunshine Stewart in Maine [25][26] - A young woman in Florida fought back against a would-be kidnapper [28][29][30][31] - An urgent manhunt is underway in Texas for suspects involved in a deadly highway hit-and-run that killed four and injured 13 [46][47] International Relations - The US and Venezuela are involved in a deal to exchange 10 detained Americans for 250 people deported from the US [2][3][23][24] Business & Entertainment - CBS is cancelling The Late Show after three decades, citing financial reasons [3][32][33][34] - Advertising revenue for network late night shows has been cut in half over the last seven years [37] Technology & Transportation - Driverless car fleets are expanding in cities across America, with companies like Whimo offering services for teens aged 14-17 [4][39][40][41] - Whimo claims their data shows 88% fewer serious injury crashes than an average human driver [43] Health & Safety - A Royal Caribbean International cruise ship experienced a gastrointestinal illness outbreak, affecting more than 140 passengers and crew members [47][48] - Nine people were injured in a stampede at a subway station in Atlanta after a Beyonce concert, reportedly triggered by a reaction to a bug [4][48][49]