ByteDance – Eyes and ears.

ByteDance tries to avoid harsh treatment. The Chinese government clamp-down on the technology industry is continuing as the CCP now owns a 1% holding in ByteDance giving it a board seat from which it will be well-positioned to ensure that ByteDance does not do anything that it does not like. Tianyancha records (Chinese corporate database) show that ByteDance has sold...

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The Metaverse – Repeated history?

Telcos will try to break the inevitable cycle Telecom operators are once again trying to avoid becoming commodity bit pipes and this time they are trying their hand at virtual and augmented reality (VR & AR) as a way to monetise 5G. This is not a new strategy and every time so far, the operators have badly failed to really...

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Road Trip – Back August 16th

RFM is taking a road trip to visit all 7 emirates of the UAE and will return on August 16th.

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Tech Newsround – AMZN / TWTR / LYFT / HERE

Amazon Q2 2021 – Whoops $127bn. Amazon reported good results but shed $127bn (7%) in value as Q3 2021 forecasts failed to live up to voracious expectations, underlying once again the poor risk-reward balance in much of big tech. Q2 2021 revenues / EPS were $113.1bn / $15.12 broadly in line with expectations of $115bn / $12.28 but it was...

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FB / QCOM results – More big hitting.

Semis looks better than Internet at the moment. Facebook Q2 2021 – Better lucky than good. Facebook reported excellent results but the adpocalypse is going to hurt in Q3 leaving Facebook as a game of two halves. The first half is a punchy valuation against slowing growth but the second is the opportunity that lies ahead of Facebook in virtual...

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APPL/GOOG/MSFT – Look elsewhere

Great numbers are already reflected in valuations. Alphabet Q2 2021 – No adpocalypse Alphabet reported excellent Q2 2021 results, and it looks as if Apple’s adpocalyspe is not going to have a significant effect in Q3 2021 leaving a valuation that is fair but not exciting. Q2 2021 revenue ex-TAC / EPS were $51bn / $27.26 compared to consensus at...

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Tesla Q2 2021 – Unreality gap.

Fundamentals and valuation remain divorced.   Tesla reported excellent results that begin to establish its long-term credentials as a player in this market but the notion that it is worth more than most of the rest of the industry put together remains as absurd today as it was 12 months ago. Q2 2021 revenues / EPS were $11.96bn / $1.02...

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China vs. China – The authoritarian moment pt. III

China does the USA another favour. China’s potential crackdown on its education industry is likely to have the opposite impact of that which is desired holding back the next generation of innovative entrepreneurs. This will hinder its ability to keep up with the USA in the long technology war that I see being fought in the coming years. A leaked...

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Jio Platforms – The Bollysystem 2.0 pt. II

Jio and Google fragment the Android platform. Jio Platforms is redoubling its efforts to capture the Indian market for new digital services while ceding the traditional ecosystem to Google and Facebook. The real loser here is Kai OS which was the software and ecosystem that was on the original Jio Phone but it has now been replaced with an optimised...

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Semiconductors – Exception or canary?

Texas Instruments raises questions on the supercycle. Texas Instruments bucked the semiconductor super cycle narrative in its Q2 2021 results with a forecast that has led some to question whether the semiconductor cycle is already peaking. Q2 2021 revenue / EPS were $4.58bn / $1.99 compared to estimates of $4.36bn / $1.83 but it was in the guidance where concerns...

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