Meta – Misplaced message

Missed the connection. Meta headlined its Connect 2022 event with its new pro-headset but its real message was completely lost meaning that what Meta is really doing in the Metaverse will remain a mystery to the market for at least another year. Most commentators looked at what Meta has today and used this to predict where the company is going,...

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Huawei – Window dressing pt. II

No way back. The repercussions of the latest US restrictions (see here) are likely to go both far and wide through the Chinese technology industry slowing its development and putting Huawei even more at a disadvantage than it already was. Huawei’s fate in cellular networks and equipment was pretty much sealed a couple of years ago when the USA implemented...

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Twitter – X marks the spot?

X is the only place to go. Much has been made of Mr Musk’s plans to create a super app called ‘X’ with Twitter as its starting point, but the reality of numbers demonstrates that this is probably the only way that any money will be made from acquiring Twitter for $44bn. Twitter is what RFM refers to as a...

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Semiconductors – Supercycle pt. VIII

Samsung and AMD join the chorus. Weak results from Samsung and a profit warning from AMD are more signs that demand is weakening which in the face of all-time highs in capital expenditure could tip the sector into a sharp downturn. Samsung reported preliminary Q3 2022 results that missed expectations almost certainly as a result of weakness in semiconductors with...

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USA vs China – Turn of the screw pt. II

The USA goes beyond semis in its war on Chinese technology. The USA is about to ramp up the pressure still further on China’s semiconductor industry which marks a departure from just targeting semiconductors to targeting the other technologies where China, until now, has been doing very well. The US Department of Commerce is expected to publish new guidelines which...

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Twitter – The price of free speech pt. VIII.

Musk caves. Elon Musk has realised that he is very likely to lose his court case against Twitter meaning that he has again offered to buy the company for $44bn ($54.20 per share) but the transaction is going to be even more expensive now than when he originally made the offer. There are two big winners from this event: First,...

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Semiconductors – Politics not economics.

Geopolitics is firmly in the driving seat. Samsung has announced its intentions to triple its foundry business from 2021 as well as migrate from 5nm to 1.4nm within a 5-year time horizon in another sign that the foundry opportunity and the build-out of leading-edge is being driven by geopolitics rather than economics. Samsung is holding its annual Foundry Forum in...

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Mobileye IPO – Tough sell.

Intel is a committed seller. Mobileye has filed its S-1 with the SEC announcing its intention to relist but looking at how much growth has slowed and how low its margins are, indicates that even the reduced valuation of $30bn is going to be a stretch. Mobileye started life as a chip company selling camera-based ADAS systems to the automobile...

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Tech sector Q4 22 – Hatches battened

China may be the dark horse in Q4 2022. The technology sector is battening down the hatches for a rough Q4 2022 with the only bright spot potentially being the lifting of Covid Zero in China after the 20th National Congress of the CCP and a re-rating of the moribund Chinese technology sector. Micron reported in-line FQ4 2022 results but...

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Amazon – Hardware bonanza

New clothes do not make Alexa any better. Amazon launched a plethora of devices that aim to strengthen its grip on the smart home, home and small office security, wellness and reading/note taking but there is no sign of Alexa getting any cleverer which at the end of the day is what Amazon really needs. Amazon held its annual device...

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