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Today we are watching…
1. Alphabetย (#googl)
At the close of yesterdayโs session, Googleโs parent company reached yet another stock market milestone. With a share price of $1,450 multiplied by 745 million shares outstanding, Alphabet is hereby inducted into the trillion-dollar valuation club. This means there are now four US tech companies that have achieved it, Alphabet, Apple, Amazon, and Microsoft. Together they represent 17% of all the value on the S&P 500 exchange, which in turn represents around 80% of all the value in American business. However, all this progress could be undone by way of government anti-trust, of which Alphabet is the most likely target. Google has search, but it will need a second act to stay in the trillion-dollar clan if it’s broken up to give smaller competitors a chance.
2. Coca-Cola (#coke)
In the world of sports drinks, Coca-Cola owns Powerade, and PepsiCo owns Gatorade. Itโs a fierce rivalry that PepsiCo won last year following over a decade on the back foot. However, 25% of the sports drink market share still belongs to Powerade, and in a move of self-defense, Coca-Cola has confirmed two of the first new product lines since 2007! Powerade Power Water will target joggers and casual outdoors folk, while Powerade Power Ultra is intended to be the drink of choice for hardcore endurance athletes. Shares of Coca-Cola have only risen 19% over the past year as compared to PepsiCoโs 28% gains. Investors in the former will be hoping these drinks, set for launch as early as three days from now, will inject some zip and pep into that stock price again!