When Twitter (TWTR) announced third quarter earnings results on October 29, investors were disappointed.This sent the stock tumbling 21.1% on October 30 and it dropped another 4.6% on November 2—the next trading day. After those two big declines, the stock bounced back a little and appears to have stabilized in the $42.50 to $45 range in the last few weeks.

One particular industry that got my attention was internet/social media. On Thursday, October 29, Facebook (FB), Alphabet (GOOGL), and Twitter (TWTR) will all report earnings results.This case could be the first of many with the goal being to break up some of the large tech giants including Facebook, Amazon, and others. While it will likely take months or years for the legal battles to play out, I want to focus on the earnings reports of the three stocks I mentioned above.

The U.S. Department of Justice filed its antitrust case against Google.  The DoJ said the action intended to "restrain Google from unlawfully maintaining monopolies in the markets for general search services, search advertising, and general search text advertising in the United States through anticompetitive and exclusionary practices, and to remedy the effects of this conduct.It would have a fuller statement later Tuesday. Earlier this month, a Congressional report accused Google of favoring its own products in search results.

Online real estate database company Zillow   said that it would open a brokerage firm in January. Zillow expects the brokerage business to help streamline its e-commerce operations.  Zillow Offers was launched in 2018 to allow customers to request instant offers and sell directly to Zillow.Tickeron's A.I.dvisor detected that the AroonUp green line is above 70 while the AroonDown red line is below 30.

On Wednesday, RBC Capital Markets analysts reiterated their Outperform rating on Facebook shares. RBC also maintained its $320 price target on the social networking behemoths’s stock.Facebook has inserted itself into developing three encouraging product initiatives that lead analysts to "come away with greater conviction" in their above consensus 2021 estimates. According to the RBC analysts, Facebook’s level of product development is very “underappreciated” in the market. The analysts feel that the addition of Marketplace, Shops, and Reels has been a tailwind to the company’s positioning amongst its competitors.

The most actively traded software ETF is the iShares North American Tech-Software ETF (NYSE: IGV).Five of the companies set to report are among the top 10 holdings in the IGV. Looking at the Tickeron scorecard we see that the overall group ranking is a “strong buy”.

The split took place as a means to spinoff Match Group and it was a rather complicated split. If you aren’t familiar with IAC, it is conglomerate of different media and internet companies around the world.Because of the spinoff of Match and the other dating sites, it’s difficult to compare past earnings results with the reports going forward. For the first quarter IAC reported a loss of $2.49 per share.

In some cases the global health crisis has helped boost sales, especially for a number of online retailers and other companies that benefit from people working at home.If you look at the services offered by these three companies, and if you think about what is happening within the industries they serve, you would be right to assume that Zillow has fared much better than TripAdvisor or Yelp in the last four and a half months. TripAdvisor serves the travel industry and travel has slowed to a crawl as a result of the virus.

On Monday, Twitter Inc.  said  that a Federal Trade Commission complaint over data security could lead to a loss of up to $250 million for the company. The social networking company revealed that it received a draft complaint from the FTC on July 28 alleging violations of the company’s 2011 consent order with the FTC and the FTC Act.The allegations are over the company’s use of phone number and/or email address data provided for safety and security purposes for targeted advertising during periods between 2013 and 2019.

Google   is extending its work-from-home mandate for employees until at least next July, according to the Wall Street Journal which  cited sources familiar with the matter. “To give employees the ability to plan ahead, we’ll be extending our global voluntary work from home option through June 30, 2021 for roles that don’t need to be in the office,” Google CEO Sundar Pichai wrote in a memo to employees seen by CNN.In 28 of 35 cases where GOOGL's price crossed above its 50-day Moving Average, its price rose further within the subsequent month.

Twitter posted a wider-than-expected second-quarter loss. The social networking behemoth’s  adjusted loss in the quarter was 16 cents a share – a result worse than the breakeven per share that analysts polled by FactSet had been expecting.  Revenue of $683.4 million fell from the year-ago quarter’s $841.4 million, and was also below  analysts’ forecasts of $701.6 million. The company’s ad revenue suffered a -23% decline year-over-year.

Apple, Facebook, Amazon.com  and Alphabet’s  Google are expected to testify before a congressional committee , according to reports published late Wednesday. The testimony is related to antitrust issues. CEOs Tim Cook (Apple), Sundar Pichai (Google), Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook )and Jeff Bezos (Amazon) are expected to appear July 27, according to Reuters citing two sources familiar with the matter. Technology behemoth have been under the scrutiny of  the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice for a while.The extent of user privacy and prevention of spread of false information and hate speech on their platforms are other topics that other concerns that the companies face from regulators.  

Pinterest got a price target hike from Deutsche Bank analyst. Deutsche Bank analyst Lloyd Walmsley boosted his price target on the image sharing /social media company’s shares to $27 from $20.In 11 of 11 cases where PINS's RSI Indicator exited the overbought zone, the price fell further within the following month.

On Monday, Zillow  shares were upgraded by a Needham analyst, on what the latter perceives as growing willingness among consumers for online realtors’ services. Needham analyst Brad Erickson lifted rating on shares of the online real-estate platform/ brokerage to buy from hold. Erickson thinks that prospective home buyers will have a greater comfort level with online interactions with realtors as the covid-19 pandemic compels them to move much of their lives online through (work from home) and shelter-in-place.He also mentioned that smaller realtors face increasing challenges due to headwinds to lead generation and low inventory – a situation that will propel real estate agent consolidation towards larger agencies and thus enable those agencies to spend more on advertising to grab market share. Erickson did mention downside risks of low inventory leading to transaction softness and macro risk; but said,  "we view these risks as low probability if at all given the curr

China has used grand ambitions and careful government planning to create powerful, profitable companies uniquely positioned to take advantage of their market – and beyond. Home to the largest internet and mobile markets in the world, Chinese companies tend to be more transaction-based than their Western counterparts.and internet services (including the largest search engine in China). While the trade wars and questions about Chinese technology companies’ ability to innovate remain, many economic experts see a positive future, driven in part by the impending arrival of 5G technology.

Search engine/cloud company Baidu Inc.  could leave the Nasdaq, as US lawmakers press for tighter restrictions on  listing requirements.   According to Reuters,  Baidu CEO Robin Li told the state-controlled China Daily newspaper that there are 'many choices' for a good company to list and that they're 'not limited' to the U.S. On Wednesday, Senate lawmakers said non-U.S. companies listed on domestic exchanges will be required to prove  "they are not owned or controlled by a foreign government.” The Nasdaq indicated that it will tighten IPO rules for foreign companies. Baidu shares were down -0.75% in early trading Thursday.

On Wednesday, Google announced that it's making Google Meet free for up to 100 users.Google Meet is a video conferencing product, and was previously available to enterprise customers using G Suite.  Google Meet  requires users to have a Google account. The version will have a 60-minute time limit, but Google said that it won't introduce that limit until Sept. 30. On Friday, Facebook  made its video calling app Messenger Rooms available for up to 50 people without any time limit.

Facebook announced plans to invest nearly $6 billion in Jio Platforms, the digital technology subsidiary of Indian company Reliance Industries. Facebook will buy a 9.99% stake in Jio Platforms for approximately $5.7 billion, becoming Jio’s largest minority shareholder. Reliance Jio began its commercial operation in the second half of 2016, and emerged as a game changer in the Indian telecom market by offering bulk of 4G data and voice calls for six months to users at no charge. “We’re making a financial investment, and more than that, we’re committing to work together on some major projects that will open up commerce opportunities for people across India,” said Mark Zuckerberg, co-founder and chief executive of Facebook.

Google  and Apple  are teaming up on developing a mobile software that would help track the spread of coronavirus. On Friday, the technology behemoths announced that they are working on an  opt-in tool for Android and iOS, where the tool will tell people if they have been in contact with someone who was had contracted coronavirus. The feature will also allow users report to a public health agency if they have been infected.  The tool is expected to launch within a few months

On Thursday, Google parent company Alphabet’s market cap touched  a trillion dollars for the first time. Alphabet joins Apple , Amazon  and Microsoft  in the trillion-dollar club.The company expects similar growth in the year ahead. In December 2019, Alphabet founder Larry Page announced plans to step down as CEO, along with co-founder and president Sergey Brin.  Sundar Pichai became CEO of Alphabet thereafter; Pichai was already Google’s CEO. However, the company also faces potential hurdles such as antitrust investigations.