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Reddit looks awkward in its new business suit

21 Mar 2024

Going public at a hefty $6.4 bln shows investors think the social media site can turn a profit. But Reddit still looks a poor fit for public markets given its reliance on moderators who manage its forums for free. Their interests are at odds with advertisers and shareholders.

Joe Biden out-MAGAs Donald Trump

14 Mar 2024

The US president is siding with union workers who oppose a US Steel takeover by Japan’s Nippon. He also said he would sign a bill forcing TikTok’s Chinese owner to sell the popular app or see it banned. The ad hoc approach to national security concerns sets a dangerous precedent.

Buyout shops take risky exit to bypass deal crash

14 Mar 2024

A lack of M&A and IPOs has left private equity portfolios with $3 trln of companies, many past their sell-by dates. As a result, firms are increasingly cashing out backers while keeping assets. There are guardrails on the structures now, but they could easily spin out of control.

Reddit Google searches ‘how to make money’

12 Mar 2024

The social media firm’s rapid top-line growth suggests it’s attracting ad dollars. But Reddit’s reliance on search engines like Google to attract viewers is a risk. Roughly three-fourths of its new users come through search. Monetizing them keeps the platform on a cost treadmill.

Time continues to be on TikTok’s side

12 Mar 2024

A US bill that would force the social media app’s parent ByteDance to sell the platform is gaining ground. Demands are like those made years ago, only the app is now more powerful, the relationship with China more complicated, and politicians less willing to compromise.

Reddit loves users, so it’s giving itself a deal

26 Feb 2024

The social media firm plans to reserve IPO shares for loyal visitors, a tactic enlisted by the maker of Sam Adams beer and trading firm Robinhood. So-called “affinity programs” are risky, as Robinhood’s 2021 offering shows. But it may help Reddit get the valuation it wants.

Warner Bros Discovery makes case against media M&A

23 Feb 2024

The HBO owner’s first full year since the merger of Warner and Discovery was a grim one. Boss David Zaslav lived up to cost-cut goals but missed nearly everywhere else. Even well-run deals can’t stem industry woes, making future tie-ups - with, say, Paramount - look ill-advised.

Reddit’s future looks bright through VR goggles

22 Feb 2024

The social media firm's IPO document shows narrowing losses and a fast-growing top line. But compared to competitors, a mooted $5 bln valuation should be a stretch. The upshot is founder Steve Huffman’s plan to sell data to train AI models. That has promise, in a virtual world.

Meta enters the dividend multiverse of madness

8 Feb 2024

The first payout from Facebook’s owner is a small $5 bln sign of financial restraint. Benefits from regularly returning cash to shareholders, however, are about as tangible as the metaverse. Zeal for dividends simply perpetuates inefficiency and irrationality in markets.

Investors will say “OK Boomer” to aging Reddit

7 Feb 2024

The 19-year-old tech firm can justify a $5 bln IPO valuation based on a familiar but flawed revenue multiple. But as Snap shows, a lack of profit portends a shaky business model. Facebook parent Meta shows the benefits of listing on a stronger foundation. Reddit is no different.

Apple’s AI absence may be its advantage

1 Feb 2024

Microsoft and Alphabet pepper quarterly results with the promise of artificial intelligence. The $2.9 trln Apple barely mentions it. The risk is a giant missed opportunity. But its gadgets may indirectly benefit, and without the ballooning capital expenditure at peers like Meta.

Gen Alpha will tire of living online

26 Dec 2023

As kids born since 2010 age into the digital world, their fatigue from being forced online will prompt backlash similar to Gen Z. Both will become smarter about the implicit agreement of trading services for data and make life more difficult for companies from Alphabet to OpenAI.

Kim Kardashian will be kicked off Instagram

22 Dec 2023

The influencer is worth $1.7 bln, which could climb with her shapewear brand’s IPO. That’s value that doesn’t flow to the owners of platforms sustaining content creators’ fame, like Elon Musk or Mark Zuckerberg. The best way for them to pull some back: suspend her privileges.

Meta’s China quest thaws thin layer of dense cube

10 Nov 2023

The $828 bln social media company plans to sell virtual reality headsets in the country, 14 years after its Facebook service was banned there. Hardware is a less thorny way to grab revenue. It also puts pressure on the US government to soften its stance on some Chinese tech.

X’s rock-bottom leaves Elon Musk little to lose

6 Nov 2023

The Tesla CEO’s investment in the social network once known as Twitter swiftly lost a chunky amount of its $44 bln value. At this point, bold new ideas, such as an AI chatbot powered by user data, or crazier ones, make sense, even if they fail. Musk does well as an underdog.

Meta tenuously clings to financial reality

26 Oct 2023

Facebook’s owner grew quarterly revenue 23% and vowed to keep expenses in check. AI investments and a planned hiring spree may yet run into an economic slump, however, and reverse an ad rebound. Only then will boss Mark Zuckerberg’s power of self-restraint become clear.

Elon Musk could use X to settle old PayPal spat

18 Oct 2023

The site formerly known as Twitter is testing a $1 fee for users. Its billionaire owner says it’s to fight spam, but customer credit card information also could help turn it into a super-app. Adding payments would challenge a company that unceremoniously dismissed him long ago.

Capital Calls: BlackRock, Dollar General

13 Oct 2023

Concise views on global finance: Boss Larry Fink squares off with Uncle Sam; Dollar General bets on its ex-boss’s old magic.