** Brokerage Melius Research flags concerns from the investor community about Google's GOOGL.O search business, especially since the launch of ChatGPT in November 2022
** Emphasizes that GOOGL's EPS increased by 76% from 2022 to 2024, but the stock only rose by ~8% during that period
** Brokerage says it is skeptical about the government forcing a break-up of Alphabet and doesn't believe the board is focused on creating value through a "sum of its parts" approach
** Brokerage compares co's situation to Eastman Kodak KODK.N, which faced a severe decline due to technological shifts
** "We view AI summaries as a 'tweener' that doesn't match ChatGPT’s simplicity for answers — and could lead to lower ad revenue for loyal customers," Melius Research
** Including session's moves, GOOGL stock down 18.8% YTD
(Reporting by Padmanabhan Ananthan)
((Padmanabhan.Ananthan@thomsonreuters.com))