Workplace

Slack would be better off as part of a team

19 Nov 2019

Shares of the work-messaging service are down 45% since its June IPO. For all Slack’s charms, Microsoft’s alternative has nearly double the users, and is untroubled by the need to raise capital or turn a profit. Slack’s best course is to find a rich benefactor, like Salesforce.

Viewsroom: When the CEO breaks the rules

7 Nov 2019

McDonald’s has provided a map for other firms after ousting boss Steve Easterbrook over a consensual relationship with an employee. Elsewhere, Aramco’s IPO and Fiat Chrysler’s merger with Peugeot. Plus: Breaking Japan’s love of hard cash.

McDonald’s CEO ouster sends clear #MeToo message

4 Nov 2019

The $144 bln fast-food chain replaced CEO Steve Easterbrook after he broke rules by having a consensual relationship with an employee. A simple policy, applied at the top, is one way to let everyone know that worse behavior – like harassment of subordinates – is out of bounds.

Review: #MeToo comes out of the shadows

25 Oct 2019

The casting couch is a Hollywood trope, but it's real for many women. Yet exposing their mistreatment is daunting, and not just because it requires courage. Two books about the fall of media mogul Harvey Weinstein show the insidious role of legal agreements that muzzle victims.

U.S. unions are in need of reinvention

30 Aug 2019

Labor Day originally celebrated full-time and fairly paid employment. The unions which helped win such jobs have declined, in part because the people doing them are now mostly comfortable. Organising workers who are left behind is harder, but would be good for the U.S. economy.

Slack debut takes direct listing closer to a trend

20 Jun 2019

The work-messaging service’s early trades gave it a valuation of some $24 bln. That’s more than three times its worth a year ago. Like Spotify before it, Slack’s decision to opt out of a full-blown IPO paid off. Airbnb could be the one to make direct listing almost mainstream.

Gender pay gap deserves GAAP accounting

19 Jun 2019

Alphabet is the latest to oppose a shareholder call for it to report the difference between median male and female pay. Many companies publish data by job categories to deny sexism, but that sidesteps a lack of women at the top. Fuller numbers would help get at the real problem.

Canada adds startup-like optimism to tech turf war

22 May 2019

The country has simpler immigration, livable cities and lower valuations than its southern neighbor. Capitalizing on U.S. dysfunction in a bid to become a tech magnet is smart. But if Silicon Valley is any guide Prime Minister Justin Trudeau should be careful what he wishes for.

Capitalists on defensive even as good times roll

30 Apr 2019

There’s a sense of foreboding at the annual Milken confab in LA. The U.S. economy is robust and valuations frothy. But last year’s tax cuts are history and a downturn may be looming. That could redouble the need to address tough challenges like diversity and inequality.

Slack needs a channel for valuation skeptics

29 Apr 2019

The email disruptor’s revenue jumped 82 pct in the year to January. But losses held steady, leaving profit far away. Private trading in March may imply a price tag of $15 bln or so and Slack could expect even more from its direct listing. Investors may want to chat before buying.

Bezos breathes down overpaid Oracle bosses’ necks

11 Apr 2019

The Amazon founder’s bold bets helped the e-commerce giant create a $30 bln cloud unit. His annual letter talks about winning more commercial-database business. It’s a warning for Oracle’s top executives, who will need to better justify their pay if they’re to see Bezos off.

Apple departure points to wider mystery

6 Feb 2019

Retail chief Angela Ahrendts was one of the firm’s best-paid executives. Was she worth it? It’s impossible to know, because Apple doesn’t say how its stores are doing. It’s one of several important data points the company holds back. Opacity weighs on Apple’s valuation.

Slack is the tech everybody likes but no one needs

17 Jan 2019

That’s one problem for the messaging service as it gets ready to go public. It’s popular, but not a must-have for companies. Another issue is its current $7 bln private-market valuation. Based on other high-flying software firms, it’s only worth just over half that amount.

WeWork needs path to profit, not enlightenment

8 Jan 2019

The cash-burning office-share outfit – now “The We Company” – wants to “elevate the world’s consciousness.” SoftBank is investing $2 bln more, some at a notional $47 bln valuation. But that’s far less than mooted. Broadening its ambitions as backers shrink theirs is risky.

SoftBank-WeWork mess exposes cracks in Vision Fund

8 Jan 2019

Masa Son’s main partners have balked at pouring more cash into the office-space provider, according to the FT. That undermines the idea of him as a visionary tech investor. It also makes it harder for the $97 bln vehicle to negotiate future deals – or set up a second fund.

SoftBank and WeWork co-create rocketing valuation

14 Jun 2018

The giant Vision Fund may inject more cash into the loss-making shared-office provider at nearly double its previous $20 bln worth. WeWork is growing fast, but that was already priced in. One test is whether SoftBank puts a lot of money where its mouth is, or only a little.

Hadas: WeWork blather is call to rework accounting

16 May 2018

The office-rental outfit’s “community-adjusted EBITDA” is ridiculous, but it gets at a real problem: valuing fast-growing firms. Standard measures would benefit investors more than company-defined ones. Accountants can help – once they learn to deal with the post-factory economy.

IWG suitors could use some WeWork magic

14 May 2018

The original shared-office provider has been approached by three private equity bidders. Though the shares are up 30 pct, its $3.8 bln market value is just over its 2017 revenue. Trendy upstart WeWork is valued at 20 times. Buyers will be hoping some of the sparkle will rub off.

WeWork junk-bond investors enable a contradiction

26 Apr 2018

The trendy shared-office outfit is the latest firm with heady prospects and huge cash burn to tap credit markets. Like Uber, Tesla and Netflix, WeWork needs funds for expansion to justify its valuation. Yet the healthy cash flow creditors prefer may only come with slower growth.

Tech salad will come with a side of SLAW in 2018

3 Jan 2018

Spotify, Lyft, Airbnb and WeWork are all potentially going public in the coming year. None of them may ever match the scale of a FAANG or BAT. But each is disruptive in its own way, and offers investors a unique play on the future of cities, mobility, work and play. Bon appetit!