Sellside analysts have too much time on their hands. There is zero logic as to why Apple should acquire a search engine.
If Apple (tkr: AAPL), were to acquire a search engine it would have a difficult time taking market share from Google (tkr: GOOG). It is more likely that an Apple-owned search engine would lose share to Google over time (in physics big bubbles get bigger) while absorbing valuable executive bandwidth and capital. Amazon (tkr: AMZN) has had a bit of success taking share from Google as Amazon has become the default product search platform. Apple has no such digital asset capable of generating the type of consumer “pull” at scale that Amazon has.
On a separate note, it was great to see Fed Chair Powell strike a realistic tone about the U.S. economy on yesterday’s call. A much needed dose of reality for the markets.