Operating at the Intersection of Technology and the Capital Markets
Category: Information Services
Here is our follow-up to our recent article Facebook Will Be Next. We have stated on a number of occasions that social media companies such as Meta/Facebook and Twitter overstate the number of active users given that the active user metric is a self-reported figure and given that no outside firm has the ability to … Continue reading Facebook and The Blockchain
As equity valuations pull back and recession looms investors ought to take cover by investing in industry-leading companies led by quality management teams. The universe of such investment opportunities can't be identified by PE or cash flow multiples, dividend yields or the like. While valuation metrics are a decent filter (example: I would never pay … Continue reading Focus On Quality Management Teams
We have long questioned the integrity of the reported user metrics disclosed by Twitter (TWTR) and Facebook (FB), as it relates to the number of fake user accounts in a given reporting period (See our recent article Elon Musk Does Perform Due Diligence). A recent Twitter study by SparkToro and Followerwonk claim that 19% of … Continue reading Facebook Will Be Next
PE firm Thoma Bravo is set to acquire Anaplan (tkr: PLAN) for $10.7 billion. That valuation implies an 18x Enterprise Value to Revenue (EV/Revenue) multiple on trailing revenue of $592 million. To us 18x revenue is a rich valuation in this environment where interest rates are climbing and recession is around the corner. Even if … Continue reading More Irrational Exuberance: Thoma Bravo to Acquire Anaplan for $10.7 Billion
Our recent Blockchain article touched on the superior digital security offered by Blockchain/ Distributed Ledger Technologies ("DLT"). Over time we anticipate that legacy payment systems, workflow software and general transaction processing systems will be replaced by dedicated blockchain/ DLT networks. The Internet in its present form is riddled with cybersecurity risks. The current crop of … Continue reading Blockchain and Cybersecurity
We wanted to get a sense of usage for various Google products over the past 10 years. Below we provide charts of Google product traffic from January 3rd 2012 through February 26th 2022 for usage within the United States. Google products reflected in the charts below include: 1.) Web Search; 2.) Gmail; 3.) YouTube; 4.) … Continue reading Google Product Usage
AWS, Azure and Google Cloud are poised to drive vertical M&A for years to come. By vertical M&A we refer to M&A transactions that would enable to AWS, Azure and Google Cloud to build a footprint at the application layer across various industry verticals. The obvious acquisition targets would be customers and partners of AWS, … Continue reading The Big 3 Cloud Giants Are Poised To Drive M&A
Our view is that the pace of Technology M&A will slow dramatically in 2022 as bond yields rise. As we wrote recently, the forthcoming Fed interest rate hikes will not be sufficient to curb inflation, but these modest, incremental increases in the Fed Funds Rate over the course of 2022 and 2023 will lead to … Continue reading M&A In 2022: We Have A Different Take
Corporate customers ought to think about diversifying beyond AWS, Azure and Google Cloud for cloud storage and embedded capabilities such as AI/ML/NLP and more. Sure, there is Oracle, Alibaba and others. Yet it would seem now may be the time for Industry-focused players to offer cloud services alternatives. Tickers mentioned: AMZN, BABA, FIS, GOOG, MSFT, … Continue reading AWS, Azure & Google Cloud Alternatives
Today we announce the winner of the "Information Services" category: Information Services: Doug Peterson, President and CEO, S&P Global Inc. (ticker: SPGI). SPGI shares have performed well but the primary reason why we choose SPGI CEO Doug Peterson over Gartner (ticker: IT), CEO Gene Hall or MSCI (ticker: MSCI), CEO Henry Fernandez was Peterson's pursuit … Continue reading CEORater 2021 Technology CEOs of the Year. Part 3 of 3: Information Services
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