We recently compiled a list of the 8 Best AdTech Stocks to Buy Now. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) stands against the other AdTech stocks.

It goes without saying that the advertisement technology industry happens to be an exciting and ever-evolving sector, as digital advertising continues to dominate the market trends and remains at the forefront when it comes to strategic marketing. According to industry data by Allied Market Research, the global AdTech market was pegged at $748.2 billion in 2021 and is expected to reach $2.9 trillion by 2031. This demonstrates a CAGR of ~14.7% from 2022 to 2031.

This growth comes off the back of growing digital and internet penetration, increased usage of advanced technology like AI and machine learning, improved prospects for the gaming industry, and growth in social media apps including Facebook, WhatsApp, and others. Some of the top trends dominating the AdTech industry include higher usage of connected TV (CTV) advertising, in-app advertising, and interactive ads.

Growth prospects of the AdTech industry

The AdTech market has been bifurcated into solution, advertising type, size of an enterprise, platform, etc. The AdTech industry includes a wide range of companies and products, such as demand-side platforms (DSPs), supply-side platforms (SSPs), ad exchanges, data management platforms (DMPs), and more. Experts are of the view that the global supply-side platform (SSP) market size should touch ~$117.32 billion by 2033. This means that the industry should compound at ~13.3% from 2023 to 2033. This growth is expected to stem from technological advancements, higher consumer demand, and supportive government policies.

In the same vein, the demand side platform software market size should touch US$120.1 billion by 2033 on the heels of an improved trend of programmatic advertising and, the need for better targeting along with measurement capabilities for online ads. While the AdTech industry seems promising, inclusion of artificial intelligence (AI) makes it even more appealing.

AI’s Role in AdTech – Opportunities and Challenges

Global AdTech industry continues to prepare for the complete deprecation of third-party cookies by Google, which makes up ~65% of the web browser market share. This transition seems to be a critical step for enabling user privacy and data security. Artificial Intelligence, because of its capability to process vast amounts of data, should play a crucial role.

Research suggests that ~54% of businesses believe that AI offers advertising cost savings and efficiencies and ~30% of marketing professionals decided to earmark more than 40% of their marketing budget to campaigns that are AI-executed. The advent of smart speakers, voice search, and podcasting can help advertisers in creating fresh avenues to connect with target audiences with the help of audio and voice technology.

While advertisers can exploit the opportunities available in the AdTech industry, they need to be wary about challenges such as Ad fraud. These frauds are caused mainly because of bot traffic, domain spoofing, or ad stacking. Some other challenges include inventory quality, ad creativity, and brand safety.

AI and ML are revolutionizing digital advertising by enabling advertisers to assess vast amounts of data in real time. As a result, the advertisers can make data-driven decisions for optimizing ad campaigns. Advertisers now use algorithmic advertising, personalization, and performance metrics to maximize ROI.

AI algorithms help in automating media buying, making sure that ads reach the target audience. Personalized ads can be delivered using AI-powered recommendation engines and these engines enable real-time tracking, which can help make quick adjustments to fuel success.

The global AdTech industry is expected to compound in the mid-teens range over the next decade. Given that it’s still early in its growth story, now is the time to look at some of the best AdTech stocks.

Our Methodology

For this article, we selected the holdings of SmartETFs Advertising & Marketing Technology ETF and ranked them in ascending order of the number of hedge funds holding stakes in them. For the purposes, we sifted through Insider Monkey’s hedge fund data for 1Q 2024.

Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points (see more details here).

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 222

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) owns Google which accounts for 99% of the company’s revenue, out of which over 85% is from online ads.

Investors and experts continue to favour Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) primarily because of its strong 2Q 2024 results, which were supported by its Cloud business and AI infrastructure business. The tech giant’s revenues came in at $85 billion in 2Q 2024, reflecting a rise of 14% YoY. This increase came on the heels of Search as well as Cloud, which for the first time crossed $10 billion in quarterly revenues and $1 billion in operating profit. Revenue from Google Cloud business went up by ~29% YoY to $10.35 billion.

Optimism around the Google Cloud business continues to prevail, thanks to Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)’s AI infrastructure and large language models, which continue to gain popularity. This should help the company as demand for cloud-based AI infrastructure and services is anticipated to become a $397.81 billion market (as per Fortune Business Insights). This means that the market should compound at over ~30% during 2023-2030.

Google Cloud revenue has been outpacing the overall revenue growth of the company. Therefore, this significant opportunity in the cloud AI market might fuel the company’s overall growth. The stock currently trades at ~21.51x its forward earnings, which is at a discount compared to Nasdaq-100’s NTM earnings multiple of ~24.4x.

Stifel Nicolaus covered the shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL), and gave a “Buy” rating. The brokerage gave the price target of $196.00 on 15^th May 2024. As of the first quarter, the stock is held by 222 hedge funds with stakes worth $32.3 billion.

Patient Capital Management, a value investing firm, released its second quarter 2024 investor letter. Here is what the firm said about Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL):

“Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) was a top contributor in the second quarter, finally catching up to its peers in the Magnificent 7. The company gained 20.8% in the period following strong first quarter earnings, a new $70B repurchase program (3% of shares outstanding) and the initiation of a cash dividend ($0.20 per share; 0.42% yield). We continue to believe the market underappreciates Google’s exposure to AI with its Gemini model being integrated into search results, YouTube advertising and its cloud offering. We continue to think that the cloud players will be the AI winners in the long-term, with Google being well positioned to take advantage. While the company trades at 24x 2024 earnings, if you remove the money-losing and under-earning businesses, you realize that you are paying below a market multiple for the core Google business. We do not believe there are many other AI winners trading at such an attractive multiple.”

Overall GOOGL ranks 3rd on our list of the best AdTech stocks to buy. You can visit 8 Best AdTech Stocks to Buy Now to see the other AdTech stocks that are on hedge funds’ radar. While we acknowledge the potential of GOOGL as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering strong returns and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than GOOGL but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.

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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.