>> It appears that Google's long-standing dominance in search has not translated into meaningful innovation in recent years.
Google IMHO is still innovating, but still hasn't figured out how to turn that into product/profit. Since their P/E is under 20 they could just issue a dividend of 4 to 5 percent and people would immediately stop expecting growth from them.
Innovation without also seeking to mesh it into a product/market fit is just burning cash. You can innovate, but also need to land it.
Also, they might just be creating a reputation for themselves of killing every new interesting thing that people just aren't as interested in trying their new things. That's a self-own.
Google IMHO is still innovating, but still hasn't figured out how to turn that into product/profit. Since their P/E is under 20 they could just issue a dividend of 4 to 5 percent and people would immediately stop expecting growth from them.