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Motor vehicle repair prices have increased about 20% in the past year, according to the June 2023 consumer price index.
There are many reasons for the trend, including long-term and pandemic-era dynamics.
Among them are better technology, higher labor costs, more crashes and ongoing issues with supply chains for parts.

Michael H | Stone | Getty Images

Car repair costs are up almost 20% in the past year, according to the consumer price index — more than six times the national inflation rate and among the largest annual price increases of any household good or service.
So, what’s driving up prices?

It’s a combination of factors, experts said. Some emerged in the pandemic era while others are longer-term trends in the auto market, they said. Here’s a look at six reasons why you’re paying more for car repairs.

1. More technology in cars

Jamie Grill | Getty Images

Common car repairs can run consumers $500 to $600 a visit and sometimes “much higher,” according to AAA.
More advanced — and more expensive — technology in vehicles is a big reason for higher repair costs, said Robert Sinclair Jr., a spokesman for AAA Northeast.
Take advanced driver-assistance systems, for example. Such technologies — including auto emergency braking, lane keeping assist or cross-traffic alert systems — have “proliferated” and are available in just about any vehicle, Sinclair said.
Electronic sensors to facilitate these technologies are found in bumpers, fenders and grilles, which are commonly damaged in wrecks, he said.

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Put another way, cars today are like computers that run on gasoline or electricity, said Skyler Chadwick, director of product consulting at Cox Automotive.
Not only are there higher costs associated with fixing broken technology, but the tech also requires more precision and time for auto body work. For example, the thickness of paint on a car bumper must be “just right” so the sensors work properly, Sinclair said.
Consider this: One repair shop proprietor told Sinclair that striking a deer with a vehicle can lead to roughly $1,500 to $2,000 more in repairs today than it did 15 years ago due to these technologies.

2. Ongoing supply-chain issues

It’s not just technology, though: Many car parts have become pricier in the pandemic era due to supply-chain issues, Sinclair said. Those supply-chain issues create shortages of certain components (such as microchips), making it tougher and pricier to replace parts during a repair.
“Supply chain problems we saw in the pandemic essentially continue,” he said.
Major long-term shifts in the auto industry — toward more automation and electric vehicles — also require more chips and put “further strain on an already stretched industry,” according to J.P. Morgan.

3. Longer vehicle ownership

Cars on the road have also gotten gradually older, raising the likelihood of “major repairs” being necessary, Chadwick said.
The average age of passenger cars and trucks in operation increased to 12.2 years in 2022, up from about 10.5 years in 2010, according to S&P Global Mobility.
Pandemic-era shortages for auto parts put upward pressure on average vehicle age. Shortages translated to a lower inventory of new and used cars, and consumers held on to their current cars for a longer time, wrote S&P Global Mobility analysts.
Higher interest rates starting in early 2022 also meant it was more expensive to buy a car, Chadwick said.

4. More car crashes

Peter Dazeley | The Image Bank | Getty Images

The prevalence of car crashes jumped in the pandemic era, experts said.
There were 6.1 million crashes reported to the police in 2021, up from about 5.3 million in 2020, according to data compiled by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Fatalities have also increased: There were almost 43,000 deaths from motor-vehicle accidents in 2021, according to the NHTSA — the highest tally since 2005 and a 10.5% jump from 2020, the largest annual percentage increase on record. The number of auto deaths in 2022 was similar, though slightly less, at 42,795.
More auto wrecks mean greater demand for mechanics, raising prices for car repairs, Sinclair said.

5. Fewer auto repair technicians

Meanwhile, there’s been a dearth of available mechanics to meet that greater demand, translating to higher labor costs, auto experts said.
In 2021, for example, about 733,000 automotive technicians were employed — a nearly 5% decline from about 770,000 in 2018, the recent high point, according to the latest data from the TechForce Foundation, a nonprofit group advocating for technical careers.

There were about 56,000 unfilled auto-technician positions from 2021 heading into 2022, its data shows.
Auto dealers ranked “service” as the business area suffering most from staffing issues, according to Cox Automotive’s Q2 Dealer Sentiment Index.

6. High-tech service appointments

Many repair shops — particularly at dealerships — have started sharing photos and videos of potential problems with customers, kind of like a telehealth appointment for their car, Chadwick said. That service increases the average repair cost by $260, he said.
“If I can actually take a video and show you your oil pan is leaking really bad … it makes more sense to me as a consumer to get that work done,” he explained.
Overall, revenue generated by each repair order was up 31.8% in June relative to January 2019, according to Cox Automotive data. More

The Biden administration said Tuesday it would forgive $130 million in student loans for borrowers who attended CollegeAmerica in Colorado.
The action affects 7,400 borrowers, whom Biden said “were lied to, ripped off, and saddled with mountains of debt.”
The Supreme Court struck down Biden’s nationwide student loan forgiveness plan in June. Debt payments are slated to resume in October after a pause of more than three years.

President Joe Biden speaks on July 25, 2023.
Samuel Corum/Sipa/Bloomberg via Getty Images

The White House on Tuesday forgave $130 million in student debt for 7,400 borrowers who attended CollegeAmerica, a now-defunct institution in Colorado that officials said misled borrowers about their loans and career prospects.
These borrowers “were lied to, ripped off and saddled with mountains of debt,” President Joe Biden said in a statement announcing the debt cancellation.

The action affects students who attended the school’s Colorado-based locations between Jan. 1, 2006 and July 1, 2020, the year in which the school closed its campuses, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser said. He had petitioned the Biden administration last year to erase CollegeAmerica student debt.
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The U.S. Department of Education found that CollegeAmerica’s parent company — the Center for Excellence in Higher Education — “made widespread misrepresentations about the salaries and employment rates of its graduates, the programs it offered and the terms of a private loan product it offered,” Weiser said in a statement Tuesday.
Biden’s action follows a Supreme Court ruling last month that killed a White House plan to forgive up to $20,000 of student debt per borrower. Loan payments are slated to resume in October after a pause of more than three years.
The White House has approved $14.7 billion in debt relief for 1.1 million student loan borrowers “whose colleges took advantage of them or closed abruptly,” like those at CollegeAmerica, Biden said. The relevant institutions include schools like Corinthian Colleges and DeVry University.

Separately, the administration earlier this month announced $39 billion of debt forgiveness for 804,000 borrowers after a review of debtors in income-driven repayment plans.
In total, the White House has approved $116 billion in debt relief for over 3.4 million Americans, Biden said. More

Getting an employment opportunity is often the first hurdle for people with disabilities.
Some 25% of people say they have a disability or health condition that limits a major life activity, according to a recent survey from consulting firm BCG, which polled nearly 28,000 employees in 16 countries.
PSEG, based in Newark, New Jersey, is one of a growing number of companies creating awareness campaigns to create safe spaces for employees to disclose a disability.

Getting a foot in the door of a company is often a major hurdle for people with disabilities looking for employment, even 33 years after the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The ADA is a federal law requiring employers to make “reasonable accommodations” — adjustments or modifications — for qualified job applicants or employees with a “known disability.” 
“A lot of hiring managers typically like to hire people that are similar to them,” noted Rob Koch, who is deaf and now works as a principal in data engineering at Seattle-based tech firm Slalom Build. “So that’s the challenge that we have to overcome.”

How companies can create ‘a culture of inclusion’

Rob Koch speaks to CNBC on Zoom with ASL interpreter, Amelia Fruehsamer.

When a recruiter for Slalom Build asked Koch the type of accommodations he would need to be “successful” in interviews, he requested a sign language interpreter and closed captions for virtual conversations on Zoom and Microsoft Teams. The company provided those supports. After several rounds of interviews, he was hired. 
“I am currently moving up the ranks,” Koch said through an interpreter. “But in the corporate world, there’s not a whole lot of deaf and hard of hearing people.”
Yet, employees with disabilities make up a sizeable share of the global workforce, by some estimates. 
Some 25% of people say they have a disability or health condition that limits a major life activity, according to a recent survey from consulting firm BCG, which polled nearly 28,000 employees in 16 countries. In a July 2023 report by the non-profit Disability:IN, fewer than 5% of U.S. employees voluntarily reported that they have a disability, although the vast majority of their employers (93%) encouraged them to self-identify. 
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“Even though workplaces can focus on creating a culture of inclusion, there’s that internal barrier that people still struggle with, because the world is telling them that disability is shameful, that disability is wrong, that their existence is somehow a mistake,” said Emily Ladau, a disability rights advocate and author of “Demystifying Disability: What to Know, What to Say, and How to be an Ally.”
“And that is really, really difficult to overcome that narrative,” she added.

Overcoming barriers to inclusion

Some employers — like PSEG, an energy company based in Newark, New Jersey — have launched initiatives to encourage people with disabilities to bring their full selves to work. 
PSEG held a year-long campaign to try to build empathy and destigmatize what it means to have a disability. The company had employee leaders talk about their experience living with a disability or caring for someone with a disability, sent around education materials and brought in outside speakers. The aim was to bring understanding and make employees comfortable talking about disabilities. 
“We’d be excluding a huge pool of potential employees if we weren’t focused on that population, and not just bringing them in the door, but making sure they had the resources and the comfort that they need to feel included and want to stay ,” said Steven Fleischer, a human resources executive who leads diversity, equity and inclusion at PSEG. 

After its awareness campaign, PSEG found the percentage of people who identified as disabled in its workplace tripled.
“I think there’s a fear and a stigma that, if I raise my hand, I’m going to be perceived as weak or unable to take on a bigger role or a bigger assignment,” said Fleischer, who helped lead the campaign. “So the work that we did, I think, helped to create that safety and have people feel comfortable raising their hands and saying ‘I’m disabled.'”

Creating opportunities to connect

Research has shown that leaning on employees with disabilities to educate and connect with co-workers can help increase the numbers of people who disclose a disability and request accommodations. Having a senior executive who has a disability or is an ally and giving voice to mid-level leaders with disabilities, as well, can help bring more employees into the fold. 
Still, employees with disabilities may stay silent — fearing stigma or losing out on a job or promotion. But Ladau says that can change. 
“When we shift that narrative and we begin to say, ‘You can identify as having a disability. That is something that you can be proud of. That makes you who you are,’ the number of people who identify in the workplace as disabled is going to grow,” she said.
Koch is also part of a new working group within the Cloud Native Computing Foundation that seeks to encourage more deaf and hard to hearing individuals to participate in open source and become more visible within the community. The group is working on inclusiveness recommendations for open source projects and conferences and provide support and networking opportunities for its members.
“As far as the corporations go, once you’re in the rest is history, really,” said Koch. More

The IRS on Monday halted a decadeslong practice of unannounced visits to homes or businesses to collect unpaid balances for most taxpayers.
The decision comes amid safety concerns from IRS employees and taxpayers, according to IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel.
Effective immediately, the agency will now make initial contact via mailed letters to schedule in-person meetings.

IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel speaks at a Senate Finance Committee hearing in Washington, D.C., on April 19, 2023.
Al Drago | Bloomberg | Getty Images

The IRS on Monday ended its controversial practice of unannounced visits to homes or businesses from agency revenue officers for most taxpayers. Part of a broader IRS overhaul, the policy change aims to lessen public confusion and improve safety.
“Starting today, if someone’s ringing your doorbell, it’s extremely unlikely to be an IRS collection employee unless you made an appointment for a home visit,” IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel told reporters on a call. “The change reverses a long-standing practice by IRS revenue officers that goes back decades.”

Previously, revenue officers — different from the revenue agents who conduct audits — visited homes and businesses unannounced to recover “substantial tax debt” with a median unpaid balance of $110,000, he said.
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The decision comes amid safety concerns from IRS employees and taxpayers, according to Werfel. “Knocking on someone’s door today is a different scenario than it was 10 or 15 years ago, and there have been significant reports from IRS employees where they have felt unsafe,” he said.
Effective immediately, the agency will now make initial contact via a mailed letter, known as a 725-B, to schedule in-person meetings with taxpayers in most cases. “We have the tools we need to successfully collect revenue without adding stress with unannounced visits,” Werfel said.
The National Treasury Employees Union, which represents employees at 34 federal agencies, including IRS workers, said it supports the policy change. “Unfortunately, the hostile rhetoric and false claims about IRS employees have made their work more dangerous in recent years,” Tony Reardon, national president of the National Treasury Employees Union said in a statement. Some Republicans have cited concerns about “new IRS agents” in a push to strip IRS funding.

“The revenue officers we represent will continue to efficiently and effectively carry out their mission of helping taxpayers meet their lawful tax obligations through other means of communication,” Reardon said. 

IRS visits may still occur in ‘extremely limited situations’

While the policy change eliminates most unannounced visits, there are “extremely limited situations” when they could still occur, such as summonses and subpoenas or the seizure of assets. “These activities are just a drop in the bucket compared to the number of visits that have taken place in the past,” Werfel said.
There are typically a few hundred of these types of visits each year, compared to tens of thousands of unannounced visits annually under the old policy, he said.
Previously, unannounced visits were “a routine part of the job” for the agency’s revenue officers, with 100,000 cases assigned each year, Werfel said. But it’s unclear exactly how many unannounced visits occurred annually. More

More small businesses are relying on influencers to build brand recognition on social media.
When Ariana Madix, one of the stars of Bravo’s “Vanderpump Rules,” stepped out wearing a Boys Lie hoodie and matching sweatpants post-breakup, sales of the sweatsuit skyrocketed, according to the brand’s co-founders.
The brand’s marketing strategy involves gifting the clothes to celebrities and social media influencers at no cost, in hopes they will post photos in the apparel on their own feeds.

It was the betrayal heard around the world.
Earlier this year, when Bravo’s “Vanderpump Rules” star Tom Sandoval cheated on his long-time girlfriend Ariana Madix with their co-star and real-life friend, Raquel Leviss, it reverberated from social media to front-page news.

Madix summed up the cheating scandal, dubbed “Scandoval,” well, stepping out days later on her way to tape the highly anticipated “Vanderpump Rules” reunion in a yellow hoodie and matching sweatpants from the clothing brand Boys Lie.

Arrows pointing outwards

Tori Robinson and Leah O’Malley, best friends and co-founders of Los Angeles-based Boys Lie, said the paparazzi photo caused an immediate spike in sales of the brand’s “1-800-BOYS-LIE” sweatshirt and sweatpants.
“It blew up in a way we had never seen before,” Robinson said.
Robinson and O’Malley started the business in 2018, but it wasn’t until they began making clothing with their simple catch phrase, “boys lie” — and celebrities started wearing it — that their brand got off the ground.
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More recently, Tori Spelling wore a Boys Lie T-shirt in her first outing after news of her divorce from Dean McDermott broke after 17 years of marriage. Once again, the catchy logo caused a stir.
“Our brand is a way to represent your emotions without having to say anything at all,” O’Malley said.
Their marketing strategy involves gifting the clothes to celebrities and social media influencers at no cost. In return, Robinson and O’Malley hope the celebrities and influencers will post photos in the apparel on their own on feeds. This, alone, helps drives sales.

A business born on Instagram

Tori Robinson and Leah O’Malley, co-founders of Los Angeles-based Boys Lie.

“We strictly gift out with the hope that a celebrity will wear it,” Robinson said, then they circulate the photos online. So far, it has worked. Last year, the pair made $8 million in revenue by selling both wholesale and direct to consumer and are on track to hit between $9 million and $10 million in 2023, according to the company.
TikTok and Instagram have quickly become the easiest and cheapest way to launch a business.
As e-commerce platforms, they are highly effective, too. Most people, particularly millennials and Gen Zers, have spent money they weren’t originally planning to on products they saw in their social media feeds, several studies show.

What’s next for Boys Lie

Now the duo is working on their next “drop” and have a podcast by the same name. Boys Lie has become “more of a lifestyle,” Robinson said.
O’Malley likens them to “big sisters” for their customers who often write in to share their own relationship horror stories.
“Anyone can go through heartbreak,” she said. “We’ve become a voice to vent.”
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While the job market remains favorable for workers, 1 in 3 respondents kept their latest job exit a secret from family, according to a report.
The decision to keep the news to yourself is understandable, but you should be “getting your bearings and making a plan,” said Mandi Woodruff-Santos, a career and money expert.
If you don’t feel comfortable about sharing the news publicly on social media platforms, make sure you have a plan to contact people in your network directly to find new openings.

Woman carrying a cardboard box, leaving office.
JGI/Tom Grill

Even though the job market is still favorable for workers, Americans looking for a new role are facing more competition compared with two years ago. But workers who find themselves unexpectedly job hunting aren’t always making the most of a valuable resource: their network.
To that point, 31% of workers who were fired kept their recent job exit a secret from family and only 29% told their friends, according to a survey by career advice website Zety. The website surveyed 990 respondents, including 26% who said they were fired from their last job and 57% who quit their last job.

People with an annual salary over $75,000 are more likely to stay quiet about losing a job compared with people who earned up to $50,000 a year, at 43% versus 21%, Zety found.

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It’s understandable that you may want to keep the news to yourself for a while because even well-meaning family members and friends may add to your stress or heighten anxiety when you should be “getting your bearings and making a plan,” said career and money expert Mandi Woodruff-Santos.
However, make a plan of action and focus on taking your next steps, because reaching out to people in your network is “about creating professional resiliency,” said Woodruff-Santos, who is the co-host of the podcast series “Brown Ambition” and founder of MandiMoney Makers.At some point, you’ll need to share the news and can benefit in the long run.

‘You’re going to have to learn how to talk about it’

Even if you’re not ready to share your job loss with friends and family, it is in your best interest to at least reach out to people in your industry for potential leads, said Caroline Ceniza-Levine, founder and career coach at DreamCareerClub.com.
Your network “is your biggest source of leads to get your next job,” said Ceniza-Levine. “I can see maybe people don’t want to talk about it, but the reality is that you’re going to have to learn how to talk about it.”

If you don’t feel comfortable about sharing the news publicly on social media platforms, make sure you have a plan to contact people in your network directly to find new openings. If you don’t start soon, you may miss opportunities, Woodruff-Santos said.It will benefit you in the long run the sooner you learn to talk about it by overcoming your emotions, said Ceniza-Levine. Have an in-depth conversation with a reliable friend or mentor about your last job and what you’re looking for, she added.
On the other hand, don’t immediately turn to your keyboard and publish your initial reactions to your job loss on social media. There are measures you should take before making that jump.

How to frame your job loss when hunting for a new role

While the term “fired” is used interchangeably, it is widely used when you are let go for cause or when “there are performance-related reasons,” Ceniza-Levine said. The term “laid off” could be tied to internal restructuring in the company.
If you were recently let go for cause, it is in your best interest to steer away from any social media platform to “air your grievances” while the tension is still high, Woodruff-Santos said. While it may feel good in the moment to vent in a public forum, you may be drawing unwanted attention, she added.
Additionally, you may be legally barred from doing so. Your former employer may have asked you to sign a legal agreement that prohibits you from sharing confidential or internal company information, she added. With or without the legal guardrail, a rant may look bad to future employers.

When you are ready to post a statement about your job loss, keep it professional. For instance, a good start would be the following: “I’ve parted ways with my company and I’m excited for a new opportunity. Here’s what I am looking for in this new chapter,” said Woodruff-Santos.
As you apply for new roles, avoid getting into all the details of your job exit until you have established yourself as a good candidate in the interview process, Ceniza-Levine said.
If and when your job exit comes up with a prospective employer, be honest and stick to the facts. Focus on your next steps by saying you are ready for the new role. You’re not “hiding something that’s dirty or shameful” with this approach, said Ceniza-Levine.”You never want to be a job candidate that lives in the past,” she added. More

The Rivian name is shown on one of their new electric SUV vehicles in San Diego, U.S., December 16, 2022.
Mike Blake | Reuters

There is more to investing in the right stocks than just buying them after a hot earnings report.
Investors can become better informed by researching the opinions of Wall Street experts, especially as they dive into the details of companies’ quarterly results.

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Here are five stocks chosen by Wall Street’s top analysts, according to TipRanks, a platform that ranks analysts based on their past performance.

Salesforce

First on this week’s list is cloud-based customer relationship management software provider Salesforce (CRM). The company recently announced that it would be raising the prices for some of its cloud products by 9% on average starting in August.
This marked the first price hike for Salesforce in seven years. Also, it comes at a time when cloud players are under pressure, as clients are optimizing their IT spending due to macro challenges. (See Salesforce Blogger Opinions & Sentiment on TipRanks) 
BMO Capital analyst Keith Bachman thinks that the company’s new generative artificial intelligence products and price increases across its core cloud products, including Sales, Service and Marketing clouds, as well as Tableau, could drive growth in fiscal year 2025 (calendar year 2024).
The analyst added that generative AI increases the importance of data, thus providing an advantage to companies that can help consolidate, curate and protect data. “In our opinion, Salesforce is well positioned to help companies leverage data, including GenAI,” said Bachman.

Bachman reiterated a buy rating on Salesforce and raised his price target to $255 from $245. He ranks No. 463 out of more than 8,500 analysts tracked on TipRanks. Also, 59% percent of his ratings have been profitable, with an average return of 8.6%.

Dell

Personal computer makers, including Dell (DELL), have been facing significant headwinds, as the demand for desktops and laptops plunged following a pandemic-driven rush.
However, Deutsche Bank analyst Sidney Ho highlighted that recent data points in the PC supply chain indicate that inventory has normalized, raising hopes that PC shipments could be above-seasonal levels in the second half of 2023.
Ho sees an upside to Dell’s Client Solutions Group (CSG) fiscal second-quarter revenue guidance of “roughly flat” on a quarter-over-quarter basis. Further, Gartner data indicates a gradual improvement in business demand trends, which works well for Dell as it has a significantly higher market share of 23% in the commercial PC market compared to a 9% share in the consumer PC market. Still, Ho cautioned about continued risks in the server market.
“Looking beyond the cyclical downturn, we believe a strong capital returns program could be a source of EPS upside for DELL, especially as its leverage ratio approaches its target level,” explained Ho.
Ho raised the price target on DELL to $60 from $48 and reiterated a buy rating. The analyst ranks 65th among more than 8,500 analysts on TipRanks. Ho’s ratings have been profitable 66% of the time, with each one delivering an average return of 23.9%. (See DELL Insider Trading Activity on TipRanks)         

Rivian Automotive

Next on our list is U.S. electric vehicle maker Rivian (RIVN), which impressed investors earlier this month with higher-than-expected deliveries for the second quarter. The company also reaffirmed its annual production guidance of 50,000 vehicles for 2023.
Mizuho analyst Vijay Rakesh sees a possibility of Rivian exceeding its 50,000 production guidance. The analyst noted that the company is executing well, with second-quarter production rising 49% quarter-over-quarter to about 14,000 units and handily exceeding his growth estimate of 23%.   
“We see the strong 1H23 deliveries positioning RIVN well for future ramps into 2H23E and beyond,” said Rakesh, who ranks 32 among more than 8,500 analysts on TipRanks. (See Rivian Financial Statements on TipRanks) 
The analyst increased his 2023 delivery estimate for Rivian’s R1 vehicle lines to about 39,000 units from 37,000, while maintaining the estimate for its EDVs (electric delivery vans) at 11,000. The analyst expects Rivian to deliver over 92,000 and 115,000 vehicles in 2024 and 2025, respectively.
In line with his bullish stance, Rakesh increased his price target for RIVN to $30 from $27 and maintained a buy rating. Rakesh has a success rate of 64% and each of his ratings has returned 23.9%, on average.

Mobileye Global

Rakesh is also bullish on Mobileye Global (MBLY), an Israel-based provider of autonomous driving technology. The analyst said that recent trends in the electric vehicle and advanced driver-assistance system (ADAS) bode well for Mobileye.
Rakesh noted that Mobileye’s key customer Zeekr, an EV brand owned by Geely Automobile, is ramping its production, with the June quarter units rising 80% sequentially to 27,000. This implies stronger prospects for Mobileye’s SuperVision systems in the June and September quarters.
The analyst now expects SuperVision units to increase 83% to about 163,000 this year, up from his prior outlook of 150,000. He also thinks that problems at Volkswagen’s software unit Cariad could create new opportunities for SuperVision at Porsche and other Volkswagen brands.
Rakesh raised his price target for MBLY to $48 from $43 and reiterated a buy rating on the stock. “We continue to see MBLY positioned well with ~70% market share and a strong AV [autonomous vehicles] roadmap,” he said. (See Mobileye Hedge Fund Trading Activity on TipRanks)           

Alphabet

The rapid growth of OpenAI’s ChatGPT has triggered massive interest in generative artificial intelligence. Tech giants, including Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL), have joined the race and are making huge investments to capture opportunities in this space.
Tigress Financial Partners analyst Ivan Feinseth thinks that the growing integration of AI functionality will help Alphabet maintain its dominant position across all key technology trends, including search, mobile, cloud, data center, home automation, autonomous vehicle tech and more.
He also expects the company to benefit from the increased integration of its Android operating system into Internet of Things devices. It will also benefit from Android’s adoption by several leading automotive original equipment manufacturers as the key driver of their infotainment platforms.
Further, GOOGL continues to build and strengthen its product portfolio through strategic acquisitions and collaborations, including those focusing on AI technology. Indeed, the company is a backer of AI startup Anthropic.
“GOOGL’s strong balance sheet and cash flow enable the ongoing funding of key growth initiatives, strategic acquisitions, and the further enhancement of shareholder returns through ongoing share repurchase,” said Feinseth.    
Feinseth increased his price target for GOOGL to $172 from $160 and maintained a buy rating on the stock. The analyst holds the 201st position among more than 8,500 analysts on TipRanks. His ratings have been profitable 61% of the time, with each rating delivering an average return of 13.2%. (See Alphabet Stock Chart on TipRanks) More

The thought of retiring and funding your retirement adequately might be daunting. But if you start planning now, you’ll certainly be thankful later. It’s never too early to start thinking about retirement.
Retirement usually entails replacing your annual salary from a workplace with other income sources to maintain your current lifestyle. While Social Security may cover part of your budget, there are understandably reasons to be concerned about how much you could receive from Social Security by the time you retire. The rest of your money will most likely need to come from your savings and investments.

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CNBC crunched the numbers, and we can tell you how much you need to save now to get $40,000, $50,000 and $60,000 every year in retirement, without taking a bite out of your principal. It might not be as difficult as you think.

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First, there are some ground rules. The numbers assume you will retire at age 65 and that you currently have no money in savings.
Financial advisors typically recommend the mix of investments in your portfolio shift gradually to become more conservative as you approach retirement. But even in retirement, you’ll likely still have a mix of stocks and bonds, as well as cash. For investing, we assume a conservative annual 6% return when you are working and an even more conservative 3% rate during your “interest-only” retirement.
We also do not factor in inflation, taxes or any additional income you may get from Social Security or your 401(k) investment plan.
We have a full breakdown of how much you need to save now if your goal is to get to $40,000, $50,000 or $60,000 every year in retirement.
Watch the video above to learn more. More