Alphabet shares slide amidst rumors of Samsung search engine switch to Bing
Shares of Alphabet Inc., the parent company of Google, fell by 4% after reports surfaced that Samsung Electronics was considering replacing Google's search engine with Microsoft's Bing as the default search engine on its devices.
MOUNTAIN VIEW, California (The New York Times) Alphabet Inc., the parent company of Google, experienced a decline of almost 4% in its shares on Monday after reports surfaced over the weekend claiming that Samsung Electronics was mulling over the possibility of replacing Google's search engine with Microsoft's Bing on its devices.
Alphabet shares take a hit within Google turmoil
According to a report by The New York Times, Google is currently facing persistent challenges as artificial intelligence (AI) gains prominence as a tool that its competitors are increasingly leveraging. As per the report, AI is being widely hailed as the future of search engine development, which is a major concern for Google. The report highlights that Google has long been the undisputed leader in the search engine industry, but with the rise of AI, the competition is heating up, and Google is finding it harder to maintain its edge.
As per the report, the news of Samsung potentially replacing Google's search engine with Microsoft's Bing has caused a state of panic within Google's internal circles. This is primarily because the tech giant earns a significant amount of revenue, almost $3 billion annually, from its contract with Samsung. The potential loss of such a major contract is a cause for concern, and it is said to have sent ripples of anxiety through the company.
On Monday morning, the stock price of Google dropped to $104.60, resulting in a loss of $50 billion from Alphabet's market capitalization. This was in contrast to Microsoft, which performed better than the market, seeing an increase of around 1% in its stock price.
