Social Media

Apple investors grow fat on iPhone’s thinning buzz

12 Sep 2023

The tech giant’s latest handset, to be unveiled Tuesday, may offer incremental improvements. Sharper pictures and faster charging won’t spur many upgrades. The $2.8 trln group’s main innovation is persuading investors to pay a higher multiple for slower-growing revenue.

John Malone wields hammer over media coffin

6 Sep 2023

A dispute has cut Charter’s cable viewers off from Disney content. Charter backer Malone is betting traditional TV is fading, risking $17 bln of rich fees for Disney. Forcing a showdown makes sense. It’s hard to see why distributors should subsidize the pivot to streaming.

Capital Calls: Microsoft in the EU, Dollar General

31 Aug 2023

Concise views on global finance: The software giant will sell its Teams communications app separately from other software in the European Union; the discount retailer’s poor results reflect a more resilient US economy.

TikTok challenger backpedals into public arena

21 Aug 2023

After nixing a $5 bln reverse merger last year, Triller plans to sell shares in a direct listing. Music videos and live-streamed brawls hosted by stars such as Snoop Dogg have attracted brands. A pivot to social media tools and questionable growth, however, make it a lightweight.

China slowdown creates cheap thrills for Tencent

17 Aug 2023

The $400 bln tech titan’s quarterly sales growth was a tad disappointing. But the country’s gloomy economic backdrop is prompting consumers to shift spending to low-cost entertainment. That should boost Tencent's lucrative video-games and advertising businesses.

PayPal would slot well in a different wallet

15 Aug 2023

As the $70 bln fintech company’s next CEO, Intuit veteran Alex Chriss brings small-business bona fides, but also dealmaking nous. It could be an opportunity for Citi, Meta or Stripe to advance their respective strategies. Fiserv, however, would make the most sensible partner.

For Meta, what’s old is finally new again

26 Jul 2023

Facebook’s owner is rebounding from the ad slump, evidenced by an 11% quarterly revenue jump. It’s a good sign for boss Mark Zuckerberg as he tries to boost the business with AI. Virtual reality will be a money pit, but at least some investment is paying faster dividends.

Snap’s boss destroys $43 bln in a snap

26 Jul 2023

Despite a bad quarter, revenue has grown faster than rival Meta's since the messaging-app’s 2017 IPO. If boss Evan Spiegel had met minimum return expectations, shares would be worth 4 times more. Now is the time to rethink Snap’s future. Too bad shareholders have no control.

Meta’s Threads isn’t worth 11 Twitters

7 Jul 2023

The social media company’s market capitalization has ballooned $500 bln since Elon Musk bought its smaller competitor for $44 billion. Measures boss Mark Zuckerberg has taken are helping. But even if he puts Twitter out of business, Meta has already received the benefit.

Meta’s Twitter experiment is a long shot

5 Jul 2023

Now is the time for Mark Zuckerberg’s $730 bln social media behemoth to steal users from Musk’s network. And Meta has successfully ripped off ideas. But gaining users won’t move the needle on Meta’s massive base. Plus even before Musk, Twitter didn’t have a viable business model.

LinkedIn ages like fine wine in Microsoft’s cellar

28 Jun 2023

In contrast to souring Meta and Twitter, the drier social media app is flourishing. Although veiled by its parent’s cloud dominance, the 2016-vintage acquisition has tripled in value from its $26 bln price tag. Business-related data also will help it keep maturing in the AI era.

Reddit’s golden geese foul up its IPO plans

16 Jun 2023

The social network differs from peers like Facebook in its reliance on moderators – effectively unpaid employees, many of whom are on strike. Until CEO Steve Huffman can align their interests with his future investors, it’s hard to see Reddit as ready for public-company life.

Meta becomes cross-border tech mascot

22 May 2023

The EU smacked the $630 bln social media giant with a record $1.3 bln fine over data transfers to the US. Meta will fight it, but a fix requires a cross-border agreement and differing philosophies on data access make that hard. Without it, Meta’s fine is a bigger tech problem.

Fuddy-duddy Meta has a kid problem

5 May 2023

The FTC wants to bar the $613 bln company from monetizing young users’ data. But Zuckerberg’s audience is already among the oldest of social media apps. He not only has to figure out how to get kids and keep them. He has to do it in a way that builds trust.

Britain grabs mantle of chief Big Tech deal-slayer

26 Apr 2023

The UK competition watchdog vetoed Microsoft’s $69 bln purchase of “Call of Duty” owner Activision, rejecting the software giant’s promises. Takeovers by tech titans have fizzled under scrutiny from the EU and US. This decision makes it even harder to expand by acquisition.

Musk’s Twitter markdown falls short of the mark

27 Mar 2023

In stock grants to the social media app’s shrunken staff, the billionaire owner imputes a $20 bln valuation, or less than half what he paid. Getting there involves financial jiu-jitsu. Include the effects of leverage and falling revenue, and the equity is probably worthless.

TikTok pile-on opens two cans of worms

23 Mar 2023

US lawmakers grilled Shou Zi Chew about his short-form video network’s data collection and influence. Yet these are separate problems – both much bigger than TikTok. There are other Chinese apps that gather US customer details and plenty of homegrown tech firms that sway ideas.

Benefits of US political accord accrue to TikTok

21 Mar 2023

The short-form video platform’s CEO will appear in front of Congress this week. Backlash towards its Chinese parent ByteDance is one place politicians can agree. American media steals eyeballs when its citizens argue. TikTok, then, has an interest in keeping events copasetic.

TikTok sale would trade one threat for another

16 Mar 2023

The White House wants Chinese owner ByteDance to sell the video app to address security concerns. Since the last president tried something similar, TikTok has grown more popular and more valuable. The logical buyers are the same firms rule-makers want to stop from getting bigger.

Capital Calls: Ritchie Bros founder regret

13 Mar 2023

Concise views on global finance: The industrial equipment auction company’s $7 bln deal for scrap-yard operator IAA has drawn one last opponent: the company’s own co-founder.