Operating at the Intersection of Technology and the Capital Markets
Month: October 2019
Episodic TV carries a superior risk/reward compared to feature films. The streaming wars featuring Disney (tkr: DIS), Netflix (tkr: NFLX), Apple (tkr: AAPL), Amazon (tkr: AMZN), AT&T (tkr: T), and others will be won by the content producers that capture the most subscribers over a measurable period of time. Questions that content producers must answer … Continue reading Episodic Television Is the Key to Winning the Streaming Wars
CEOs risk losing credibility with employees, shareholders, customers and damaging their companies when they refuse to hold themselves accountable. What do Mark Parker of Nike, Kevin Plank of Under Armour and Dennis Muilenburg of Boeing have in common? Yes, each holds the CEO title (although Parker and Plank will step down at year-end). However, we … Continue reading A Corporate Culture Failure: CEO’s Who Do Not Hold Themselves Accountable
The Industrial CRE sector remains strong as Amazon and other e-commerce players acquire industrial properties to extend delivery capabilities. Amazon (tkr: AMZN), is investing to make one-day delivery standard for Prime members which in turn is driving the need for more local industrial space near high population density areas. "We’re currently working on evolving Prime … Continue reading E-Commerce Continues to Drive Demand for Industrial Space
Consistent pursuit of a focused mission tends to pay dividends over time. We provide several examples of public FinTech companies that have successfully done so. We include growth opportunities and near-term risks for each company. Companies mentioned: FactSet Research Systems (tkr: FDS); PayPal (tkr: PYPL); SS&C Technologies (tkr: SSNC); Stripe (private) FactSet Research Systems (tkr: … Continue reading For These FinTech Names Staying the Course Paid Off.Premium
For comic relief I watched some of the Facebook congressional hearings (video below). While Facebook's Calibra/Libra cryptocurrency initiative was the hearing's focus, clues were offered as to what may lie ahead for Facebook users and Ad buyers. At the 6:24:30 mark of the video, U.S. Representative Dean Phillips (D-MN), asked Facebook founder and CEO Mark … Continue reading Facebook to Leverage “Authentication” to Drive Ad Revenue?
If you read these pages or listen to our TEK2day Podcast you know we avoid companies with little in the way of defensible intellectual property ("IP") or a sustainable competitive advantage. We have consistently articulated this sentiment about Uber for the past several years. Further, Uber has less operating leverage than one may conclude after … Continue reading Uber: Little IP & Less Profitability than Meets the Eye
How do you catch Google - the AI leader - if you are Amazon, Apple, Microsoft or any other Tech giant? Answer: You can't. However, China can. Amazon and Microsoft have partnered on machine learning ("ML"), with their joint ML initiative - Gluon. That's a start but at the end of the day, effective AI/ML/Deep … Continue reading Google’s Only Real AI Competition? China
Investors that value growth AND profitability ought to consider a number of tried-and-true FinTech names. Several days ago we were critical of some of the recent IPO and IPO hopeful crop of companies that enjoyed (even if temporarily) nosebleed valuations while delivering little in the way of recurring revenue much less profitability. Contrast that with … Continue reading FinTech for Growth & Profitability
Over the past several years as I've read articles about Uber, WeWork and a number of technology startups, my takeaway is that many of these companies lack focus. They lack a focused mission. They lack strategic and operational focus. I understand the argument that institutional investors want growth in the absence of yield, but too … Continue reading Growth at All Costs Leads to A Lack of Focus
We are working on a project that has me thinking about the "long tail". For those who took Statistics you may recall that the long tail is the portion of the distribution where occurrences appear far away from the distribution's center. A long tail business strategy is one where the service provider makes hard to … Continue reading The Long Tail Will Differentiate You
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