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Something interesting happened on Thursday in Google's quarterly earnings report. It has nothing to do with the cost per click, the cost of acquiring traffic or any other mysterious measure that Wall Street people love to explore.
In fact, what happened at the investor's call was not aimed at investors at all. The intended audience was the White House man and Google did not try to be very discreet about it.
While Google's president, Sundar Pichai, was coming to the end of his prepared remarks, he noted that Google's parent company, Alphabet, was investing "closer to home." In the third quarter, he pointed out, "more than 80% of Alphabet's total capitalization was in the United States".
"Not only do these investments in data centers, machines and offices enable us to provide excellent services to our users, but they also have a significant positive impact on the communities around them, supporting thousands of people. Jobs and countless local businesses. This year, we have added more than 9,000 new employees to the US and we continue to grow faster outside the US. [San Francisco] Bay Area only in this one. "
This is not the kind of detail that Google – one of the least transparent companies in terms of its business – typically does in its reporting of results. But this is not an ordinary time, and Google, like many of its Big Tech peers, is doing everything in its power to wrap itself in the American flag and show how good it is as a citizen.
It's perhaps because US Attorney General Jeff Sessions has said he wants to investigate Internet companies for their supposedly stifling speech. Or maybe because the Trump 2020 campaigner has called Google a "threat to the republic". Or perhaps because Trump himself has accused Google of rigging the results of his search against him (this is not the case).
Google is also on the defensive because of its decision not to enter into arms-related contracts with the US Department of Defense, a policy that has been addressed by other Trump punches such as the CEO of ############################################################################# 39, Amazon, Jeff Bezos, as to improve their image with the president. .
Let's be clear, the fact that Google invests 80% of its capital expenditure in the United States is obviously a good thing. Google spent $ 5.3 billion in operating expenses in the third quarter, so it's real money, and a lot of money.
But it is likely that this money has always been intended to be spent in the United States. Datacenters, large-scale projects requiring years of planning, are one of the key elements of Google's capital expenditures.
The only thing that has changed is the sudden need for Google to loudly proclaim its patriotic good faith. For a company as powerful as Google, this unusual flag is a sign of deference and fear for the White House.
Yes, Google is currently discussing with the Commander-in-Chief some very commendable achievements. But there are many dangerous policies, such as "Make America Great Again", for which Google is a vocal opponent, ranging from the travel ban imposed on people from Muslim-majority countries to transgender rights.
Many vulnerable people depend on powerful entities, even for-profit corporations, to defend their causes.
Now that Google is used to bending knees and prostrating itself, what will it say or will it do the next time it will need to attract Trump's favors? ?
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