WeChat is no Facebook
When looking at the growth potential of advertising for Tencent, parallels are drawn to Facebook’s more-developed advertising business, in particular the much higher number of ad impressions served to users. But perhaps this is an unfair comparison, and it is worth considering the growth runway through the lens of Allen Zhang, WeChat’s creator, and an […]
Spotify the Audio Aggregator
During their recent earnings report, Spotify announced acquisitions of podcast studio Gimlet Media and Anchor, a service that streamlines podcast making, advertising and distribution. The commitment indicates their plan to expand their offering to become more than simply a music streaming platform. The move is unprecedented, as CEO Daniel Ek emphasised, “what I didn’t know […]
The Category Killer
The U.S. housing market, after having staged a solid recovery since the depths of the financial crisis, is starting to show some signs of moderation. U.S. existing home sales (SAAR) were down -6.4% year-over-year in December. Housing turnover has been trending negative. There are also concerns around housing affordability in the U.S. given the strong […]
Apple’s challenge
Long term Apple shareholders must feel like they are living through Groundhog Day. An annual iteration of the iPhone fails to live up to elevated expectations, and Mr Market quickly moves to discount the demise of the company. This is precisely what happened at the start of January when Apple issued its first revenue downgrade […]
What’s up with JOBS?
Last week, 51job (Nasdaq: JOBS), the Chinese online job ad platform, reported its third quarter 2018 earnings result. The result was very strong, and given that the stock has been beaten up by the market over the last few months, one would expect that the stock would rally as a result. However, somewhat surprisingly, 51job […]
What to make of Apple’s reporting change
Last week Apple reported its fourth quarter and full fiscal year results. While the quarter past was strong, Apple’s underwhelming guidance for the first quarter of fiscal 2019 combined with its decision to cease reporting unit shipments for the iPhone, iPad and Mac in future drove a $70 billion wipeout of market capitalisation. If one […]
How Deep is Your Market?
The collective performance of the stocks of Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix and Google (now Alphabet) has been sensational over the last few years. Combined with their sheer scale, the stocks of these companies have therefore accounted for the bulk of the US equity market’s gains in this time. So, it comes as no surprise that […]
Instagram Reaches Pivot Point as Facebook is Handed the Reins
Last week, Instagram co-founders Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger announced their plan to leave Instagram to “explore their curiosity and creativity again.” The social media company, acquired by Facebook in 2012 for $1 billion, is now worth $100 billion according to Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Jitendra Waral. Facebook’s market value today is $480 billion, emphasising how significant […]
Apple’s gamble on Chinese vanity
It’s that time of year again. Every September, Apple hosts its annual iPhone launch event at its Cupertino campus, unveiling the next iteration of the company’s bestselling product. This year marks a continuation of the three-phone line-up that began last year with the iPhone 8, 8 Plus and the X. Speculation abounds about whether the […]
Apple Part II: What would it take to reach $2 trillion?
In Part I of this two-part blog on Apple, we discussed some of the criticisms that Apple faced as an investment case on its journey to a $1 trillion market capitalisation. This Part II will take a look at some of the lenses through which we can view Apple as a business, to better understand Apple’s […]
