November 13th, 2008
Analyst: 'Worst economic environment in our collective lifetimes'
Analyst Mark Mahaney of Citigroup recently issued a report in which he dropped his price target for Google to $450, from a target of $590 just a month ago, according to TechCrunch.
Back then, Mahaney noted that Google was the market leader in “the most dynamic part of Internet advertising - search.” Now, the economy’s got him rethinking how strong that theory will hold up in current conditions.
Back in October, signs were mixed. Advertising spend in the financial, retail, travel and housing verticals was weak, but pharmaceuticals, CPG, entertainment and technology was strong.Now Mahaney notes in his report that we are going into “almost surely the worst economic environment in our collective lifetimes.”
Why? His report: “We didn’t uncover a single source that thought business trends were going to improve in the foreseeable future.” Oh, and: “Search marketers almost universally expect this Q4 to be the weakest they have ever experienced.”
Ouch. Can Google withstand what the economy is throwing at it? If you remember, it wasn’t long ago that Google was saying it could thrive in a weak economy. It’s very likely, but it won’t escape without a few scratches.
Andrew J. Nusca is an associate editor for ZDNet and SmartPlanet.
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