Operating at the Intersection of Technology and the Capital Markets
Category: Gaming
We doubled down on our bet that Federal unemployment benefits will be extended beyond September 6th after listening to Joe Biden tell us that the sky is not blue. The longer these enhanced Federal unemployment benefits remain in force the longer the Labor Participation Rate will remain below 2019 levels. This will continue to impact … Continue reading Federal Unemployment Benefits Will Be Extended In September
Both Facebook (Facebook Blue and Instagram) and Twitter have an enormous Bot problem. Fake user accounts are included in active user counts and therefore contribute to Ad rates. Facebook said it took down 1.3 billion fake accounts October-December which is not to say it removed every last fake account or even a majority of them. … Continue reading The Facebook and Twitter Ad Scam
As we wrote in September of last year, Netflix (tkr: NFLX), Should Acquire Video Game Publishers. Netflix teased a video game strategy on tonight's earnings call. Disney (tkr: DIS), proved the model on the feature film side with acquisitions of Pixar, Marvel and Lucasfilm. The video game space will prove no different. After all, hit … Continue reading Netflix & Video Games Can’t Happen Soon Enough
Technology CEOs who truly value innovation are scarce. It is far easier to give investors near-term profits than to reinvest a significant portion of profits in R&D activities that may not drive long-term ROIC (Yes, risk is involved which requires courage and conviction). The chip business is no exception. New Intel (tkr: INTC), CEO Pat … Continue reading Intel CEO Investing To Drive Innovation
During an equity market bubble 13-year old children are as smart or smarter than experienced stock pickers. Who needs to assess valuation, industry trends, the competitive landscape and management teams when stocks only go up? Heck, reddit chat room WallStreetBets ("WSB"), tells investors everything they need to know (said with sarcasm). Plus, Elon Musk Tweeted … Continue reading Everyone Is A Stock-Picking Genius During A Bubble. Where Is The SEC?
Apple CEO in-waiting Jeff Williams is a Tim Cook clone. We argue that Apple's next Chief Executive ought to be a risk-taking, product-focused CEO that conducts him/herself with a sense of urgency to drive Product & Services growth. Another caretaker CEO would be less than optimal. Companies mentioned: Alphabet (GOOG), Amazon (AMZN), Apple (AAPL), Cerner … Continue reading Apple’s Next CEO Ought To Be An Innovator
Google is an information black hole ingesting every bit of data in its path. Google essentially crowdsources data gathering by using willing humans to volunteer information - including sensitive PII data - typically by way of the mobile phone as a conduit. Mobile applications such as Google Assistant, Chrome, Photos, Maps, G-Suite, Google Retail, Google … Continue reading It’s Google’s World. We Just Live In It.
AWS, Azure and GCP - the respective cloud platforms for technology giants Amazon (AMZN), Microsoft (MSFT) and Alphabet (GOOG) - will benefit from each company's cloud gaming service. Similar to exercising one's body, cloud platforms benefit from use. Cloud gaming is a recent use case that should further strengthen the leading cloud platforms: AWS, Azure … Continue reading AWS, Azure & GCP Will Benefit from Their Respective Cloud Gaming Services
Given the significant run up in many Technology stocks (our CEORater Tech portfolio is up 57% YTD, detail end of article), the question for many institutional investors is how best to position the portfolio for 2021? There is a saying in Physics that "big bubbles get bigger". Our expectation would be for Alphabet, Amazon, Apple … Continue reading Where Do We Go From Here?
It is no great mystery as to how or why Google's Ad business is losing share to Amazon and Facebook. People are increasingly conducting product searches on Amazon and are entertaining themselves on Instagram. Thus, advertisers increasingly want to be on Amazon and Facebook. Video game platforms are another competitor Google should be concerned with … Continue reading Amazon and Facebook Are Killing Google’s Ad Biz One Bite at A Time
