Alphabet Inc (GOOGL) stock rose over 3% on Wednesday after a timid start to the week. The company’s Class A stock is trading at $1,088 a share in mid-morning trade on Thursday. The company’s stock is up due to several news announcements this week.
Google’s cell phone service, called Project Fi, is expanding, offering a new opportunity for the money to grow their revenue.
The company’s service has been available on Android phones only, but an announcement on Wednesday indicated an expansion to iOS devices. The service will also be renamed “Google Fi.” The service has used special phones to take full advantage of the service, and this means that iPhones will not receive transcribed voice mails and other features seen on the platform’s Pixel 3 series phones.
The service comes with no contracts or fees and offers international data coverage.
Google’s CEO Sundar Pichai will also make a Congressional appearance in a move that has been long-awaited change in the company’s stance to appear in front of Congress. Pichai’s aides put an empty chair in front of Congress just three months ago in a move that symbolized that the CEO refused to appear in front of Congress to discuss Google’s business practices.
The company has come under fire from users, an SEO company in Toronto, and Congress after weeks of reports that the company is developing a censored search engine in China. The move caused many employees to question the company’s morals over profits.
Pichai will appear before the House Judiciary Committee on December 5. The company will have to answer questions, including how it influences politics by stifling conservative voices after President Donald Trump claimed that the search engine favors “fake news.”
Google investors are hoping for the company’s stock to strengthen before their next earning release, which is expected in early February. The company is expected to post earnings of $11.01 a share, or a 13.51% gain in growth year-over-year. Net sales are expected to come in at $31.26 billion, rising 20.83% from a year prior.
Google’s shares have gained over 2% in the last month, outpacing the Computer and Technology sector, which lost over 1.56% during the same period.
FAANG stocks, which includes Facebook (FB), Amazon (AMZN), Apple (APPL), Netflix (NFLX) and Google may soon include Microsoft (MSFT) which has turned itself around and passed Apple in market value. FFANG stocks have lost $1 trillion in value on Tuesday when compared to their 52-week highs. Alphabet lost $164 billion when compared to their 52-week highs.
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