Technology platform companies include more than Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Microsoft. We contemplate a few FinTech platform companies below.
- PayPal (ticker: PYPL): A “Payments” platform company that re-invented itself by acquiring another payments company – Venmo – that was built on top of another platform company – Facebook. The architect that drove PYPL’s strategy – former iPay CEO, former Braintree CEO, former Venmo CEO, former PayPal COO – Bill Ready – is now Google’s President of Commerce & Payments. Who is piloting the aircraft matters.
- S&P Global (ticker: SPGI): The IHS Markit acquisition is probably the best acquisition that S&P has made. If there ever was a “platform” company for the Oil & Gas, Energy industry, it is the former IHS business. Jerre Stead is the architect of the former IHS business as well as the dealmaker behind its eventual combination with Markit.
- Square (ticker: SQ): Thanks to Jack Dorsey Square is one of the most innovative Payments companies, certainly far more so than PYPL. Again, leadership matters, especially in the CEO suite.
- SS&C Technologies (ticker: SSNC): Bill Stone has led this Platform company since its founding. SS&C is the leader across many areas of the Investment Technology landscape, perhaps none more prevalent than its leadership position in the Alternatives space where SS&C had $2.15 Trillion of AUA as of the end of the 2nd Quarter. Read our recent TEK2day Spotlight report to learn more about SS&C Technologies HERE.