Technology

Corona Capital: Netflix price hike

30 October 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: The streaming-video service hiked the price on subscriptions as binge-watching booms during the pandemic.

Naspers finds one bargain internet stock: its own

30 October 2020

The $82 bln South African group and its Amsterdam-listed offshoot have lagged behind a surge in big technology stocks this year. A $5 bln buyback highlights the discount to its stake in China’s Tencent and shows it won’t chase overpriced deals. Other investors should take notice.

Apple’s reinvention risks are yet to be priced in

29 October 2020

Services revenue surged 16% in its last quarter to $14.5 bln. With iPhone markets mature, it's the main reason Apple's stock price has doubled in two years. Yet rivals and regulators have that business in their sights. The company's $1.9 trln valuation assumes they get nowhere.

Facebook nears moment when world is not enough

29 October 2020

The summer’s ad boycott made no dent on revenue, which grew 22% in the third quarter, and didn’t deter the social network’s users. Facebook’s apps now reach 41% of the global population. Expansion on that front is bound to slow down. Revenue per user will get more important.

Nokia makes a meal of its Huawei free lunch

29 October 2020

The $19 bln telecom giant’s shares slumped after it slashed operating margins. New boss Pekka Lundmark is right to beef up investment to improve its 5G offering as China’s Huawei battles U.S. hostility. But right now Nokia is losing out on new business rather than snapping it up.

Viewsroom: What we’re expecting on election night

29 October 2020

If Joe Biden wins Donald Trump’s place as POTUS on Nov. 3, and the Senate turns Democrat, lots of things will change – chief among them tax and economic policy. But big tech companies and China’s Communist Party will gain no reprieve. Rob Cox, Gina Chon and John Foley discuss.

Big Tech backlash will hurt Little Tech more

28 October 2020

Facebook, Twitter and Google hide behind a law that protects them from liability for toxic content but lets them censor when they see fit. Removing that shield, as some lawmakers want to do, would be inconvenient and expensive for them, but brutal for smaller rivals like Yelp.

Corona Capital: Drugmaker’s pick-me-up, Golf M&A

28 October 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Drugmaker GSK sees a recovery in vaccinations against old-school ailments; meanwhile Covid-19 turns out to be a handy driver when it comes to golf-related dealmaking.

Daimler bags lux joyride on Aston Martin’s dime

28 October 2020

The $59 bln Mercedes-maker has traded some of its technology for a 20% stake in the James Bond marque as part of a wider 1.2 bln pound rescue. In return for access to battery-operated cars, CEO Ola Kaellenius gets a free option on a super-premium brand. It’s a trip worth taking.

Remember TikTok? Send an indulgence to deal gods

28 October 2020

The Chinese-backed video platform is waiting for a U.S. court ruling, Trump administration approval, and then Beijing has to have a word. That’s all before integration with Oracle and Walmart even starts. With the U.S. election forthcoming, TikTok is stuck in M&A purgatory.

Microsoft can flip the antitrust script

27 October 2020

The software giant and the rest of Big Tech have benefited from pandemic conditions. It saw a 12% jump in revenue. But having been through the anticompetitive ringer, it’s largely escaped the current D.C. scrutiny of its rivals. That gives it an edge in focusing more on growth.

Health insurers put Google market power to shame

27 October 2020

Anthem, Humana and UnitedHealth stocks have outperformed the tech giant's parent Alphabet over the past decade. U.S. insurers benefit from near-monopolies in many regions. Americans have few choices among hospitals too. Maybe Big Health is a better antitrust target than Big Tech.

AMD finds going on offensive carries a high price

27 October 2020

The chipmaker is buying Xilinx for $35 bln. The $9 bln premium is worth more than three times the net present value of savings from the combination. CEO Lisa Su’s record is good though, so there may be some merit to the deal. At a minimum it puts Intel in a more difficult place.

Corona Capital: Binge-watching, Gaming

27 October 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Streaming viewers like to binge-watch, but they are being stingy; a fresh surge of Covid-19 cases could be a boon for gaming developers.

Ant’s $312 bln valuation puts faith in fast growth

27 October 2020

Both the Hong Kong and Shanghai shares priced with a lucky number eight. To achieve the symbolised prosperity, the Chinese fintech giant’s profit would have to double by 2022 based on the conservative 24 times multiple. Much rides on winning over customers and regulators alike.

U.S. election could be Twitter’s darkest day

26 October 2020

The $40 bln firm, Facebook and other online platforms can’t win in the Nov. 3 ballot. Banning political ads and premature claims of victory will be controversial and messy. Breakingviews imagines Jack Dorsey proposing one radical option to Mark Zuckerberg: a temporary shutdown.

SAP’s shifting goalposts puncture Covid-19 hopes

26 October 2020

CEO Christian Klein scrapped his 2023 financial targets, wiping 20% off the $174 bln giant’s market worth. New 2025 goals imply a large pandemic-induced boost to cloud computing, which may merit a higher multiple. Investors smarting from Monday’s selloff are apt to wait and see.

Big Tech M&A crackdown will help boring rivals

22 October 2020

Companies like Oracle and IBM will benefit if Congress proposes a presumptive ban on acquisitions by Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google. The giants have bought hundreds of firms in the last five years to aid growth. Deal limits may shake up lucrative sectors like cloud computing.

Alibaba valuation hole bored deeper by Ant IPO

22 October 2020

The e-commerce giant's fintech stake might be crystallised soon at some $80 bln. A promising cloud computing business could be worth more, but investors ascribe hardly any value to it. Better financial disclosure would help narrow a discount CFO Maggie Wu keeps griping about.

Roblox IPO has just enough buzzwords

21 October 2020

The online video game for kids isn’t just something that entertains. It combines social media, unique content and even a cryptocurrency. The mooted $8 billion value may be a stretch, especially given the faddish nature of gaming. But Roblox is unique enough to justify it for now.