https://wccftech.com/apple-aapl-should-buy-duckduckgo-to-strengthen-its-hand-against-google-according-to-a-bernstein-analyst/

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) has been increasingly relying on its services sphere to generate additional growth in its revenues amid a broad stagnation of global smartphone sales. In a testament to the growing importance of the App Store to Apple’s financial health, the platform generated around $50 billion in revenue for the company in 2019, according to CNBC.  Given this prevailing panorama, a Bernstein analyst believes that Apple can substantially expand its margins in the services segment by purchasing the search engine DuckDuckGo.

Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL) has been paying Apple around $7 billion to $8 billion annually for the privilege of being the default search engine in iOS. However, as per the latest investment note published by the Bernstein analyst Tony Sacconaghi, this regime may be upended soon. According to the analyst, the likelihood of Google moving away from Apple is increasing. Given the dominance of Google in the search engine sphere and the relative irrelevance of Microsoft’s Bing, Google’s negotiating hand has been growing stronger. Bear in mind that Google earns about $15 billion annually through its contracts with Apple and that any threat from the search engine giant to walk away from the iPhone manufacturer would merely be a gambit aimed at stacking the prevailing odds in its favor.