Google Search Growth Declines, Says Cowen
2022.06.16 22:56
Google (GOOGL) Search Growth Declines, Says Cowen
Cowen analyst John Blackledge said in a note to clients Thursday that Google Search (NASDAQ:GOOGL) growth decelerated in May.
Cowen analysts spoke to an ad expert from a digital agency that runs $3 billion per year in managed ad spend, including over $1 billion on Google Search.
“Google Search spend was +18% y/y in 2Q22 thus far, vs +23% y/y in 1Q and our +16% y/y est., as CPC growth fell to +6% y/y, vs +12% y/y in 1Q22, and click growth slowed to +10% y/y vs +11% y/y in 1Q22,” wrote Blackledge who has an Outperform rating and a $3,200 price target on Google shares.
However, he added that the expert’s agency does not have significant exposure to verticals like travel, which benefited from the reopening, and thus “they may have a somewhat easier comp than overall GOOG Search in 2Q21.”
“Our expert cited CPC growth of +6% y/y in 2Q22 through 5/27, decelerating vs +12% in 1Q22, as 2Q21 was a much tougher comp of +36% y/y vs just +15% in 1Q21. Meanwhile, click growth was +10% y/y in 2Q22 as of 5/27, a slight step down from +11% y/y click growth in 1Q22.”
By Sam Boughedda
