Google might buy what it can’t build

With a history of shutting down failed projects, Google parent Alphabet is considering the M&A route instead.

4/4/24 12:01PM

Google parent Alphabet is considering a bid for $34 billion marketing software solutions platform, according to Reuters. Why would Alphabet want to acquire Hubspot? And, related, what actually is Hubspot?

Hubspot is one of several publicly traded multi-billion dollar software as a service (SaaS) companies that no one really knows what it does. Think: Atlassian, ServiceNow, or Workday. But its business is straightforward: Hubspot offers sales and marketing teams user-friendly dashboards for creating, tracking, and updating their leads. This data is compiled in a single central database, instead of being siloed in team-specific databases, improving transparency and information continuity across an enterprise, and their dashboards integrate with thousands of third-party apps. TL;DR: Hubspot is a solution for managing a company’s sales and marketing departments.

Why would Alphabet want to acquire Hubspot? Well, they’re infamous for launching, and then shutting down, various projects. A few examples: Google Domains, Google Currents (which was the rebranded version of Google+), Google Jamboard, Google Cloud IoT Core, Google Hangouts, Google Surveys, G Suite, and Google Go Links. For those curious, you can see the full list of Google’s graveyard at killedbygoogle.com.

What Alphabet does have, however, is near-infinite consumer data, a dominant portion of the search market, and a powerful advertising business. Combining Hubspot’s marketing and lead generation solutions with Google’s search and ad capabilities could be valuable for sales and marketing teams, depending on how they are integrated.

If Alphabet makes a formal offer, however, it will almost certainly be flagged by regulators. FTC Chair Lina Khan has been cracking down on big tech M&A since taking over, and the world’s biggest search provider acquiring a $34 billion B2B marketing solution fits the template for deals she would sue to block.

Max Knoblauch10/24/25

Premium seats help push airlines higher following third-quarter results

Shares of American Airlines are climbing toward the carrier’s best trading day since August 12, when ultra-budget rival Spirit issued its initial warning about its ability to survive. American’s shares are up more than 7% on Friday afternoon.

Investors’ optimism comes a day after American posted a better-than-expected full-year earnings forecast. In a call with investors, American said that it’s ramping up its premium cabin offerings.

“Our ability to grow capacity in premium markets will be further supported as we take delivery of new aircraft and reconfigure our existing fleet. These efforts will allow us to grow our premium seats at nearly two times the rate of main cabin seats,” CEO Robert Isom said. American CFO Devin May said that nose-to-tail retrofits of certain wide-body jets will bump the number of premium seats available on those planes by 25%.

Extra legroom has been a boon for major carriers, particularly this quarter. Delta Air Lines said its premium product revenue grew 9% in Q3, compared to a 4% drop in economy seat revenue. Similarly, United Airlines said its premium revenue grew 6%, outpacing economy. Shares of both airlines were up more than 3% on Friday.

Carriers with less exposure to first- and business-class tickets like Southwest Airlines and JetBlue didn’t see the same amount of momentum on the day.