Clearly, Fortnite has not had a good lockdown. Epic Games has caved into Google and is making Fortnite available in Google Play (see here) in a clear sign that growth and engagement at Fortnite is slowing meaning that it now needs Google more than Google needs it. Epic has had a long-running battle with the app stores (see here) over...
No glassholes please, we are Apple. Details of Apple’s rumoured augmented reality offering has leaked and it looks like Apple has taken a practical approach that could result in a product with limited function but one that aficionados might buy. This product has been rumoured for some time and was expected to follow a virtual reality product but of the...
Timing of a vaccine is critical. With the departure of Jack Ma and the completion of the Sprint, T-Mobile merger, SoftBank will sell down its core assets to cover a thumping $18bn write down in the Vision Fund, reduce debt and keep skittish investors onside by returning around $20bn to them in the form of share buybacks. Against the pandemic...
The USA further hardens its position. Others may follow. The US has moved to harden its stance against Huawei by closing a significant loophole revealing once again that Huawei is merely a pawn in a game in which the pandemic has greatly raised the stakes. The US has announced the closing of a loophole that allowed US companies to supply...
The vested interests will now be more against Libra than ever. The pandemic is substantially weakening the existing financial system meaning that Libra is more of a threat now than it ever was before, thereby ensuring that it will never be allowed to launch in a form that could make it a viable currency. The latest change to Libra adds...
Tencent waters down expectations to prevent a big miss later in the year. Tencent reported good results as it benefitted greatly from millions of Chinese sitting at home, but also moved to temper expectations as much as it could in a sign that it is worried about preserving the recent rally in its shares. Q1 2020 revenues / EPS were...
Uber taking out Grubhub is exactly what is needed. Uber has proposed to take over Grubhub which would create an entity slightly larger than DoorDash, setting the scene for intense competition between the two and the exit of all of the others. I have argued (see here) that the impact of the pandemic will be to accelerate consolidation in the...
The notion of a recovery is not as leftfield as I thought. Since the beginning of the pandemic, I have entertained the idea that automobile demand may be a late-stage beneficiary of the pandemic and now there are some signs of this. The net result of this trend is likely to be a worsening of traffic (Beijing is already gridlocked...
Jio is making a play to finally create a home-grown digital ecosystem. General Atlantic and Saudi PIF look set to follow Facebook, Silverlake and Vista Equity Partners in investing substantial amounts in Jio Platforms but earning a return on a $58.6bn valuation will require a long wait. Jio Platforms is the leading mobile phone service provider in India and while...
Richard is founder, owner of research company, Radio Free Mobile. He has 16 years of experience working in sell side equity research. During his 11 year tenure at Nomura Securities, he focused on the equity coverage of the Global Technology sector.
Magic Leap – The greatest showman.
Rony shows his true talent. Magic Leap appears to have raised another $350m giving it a lifeline for a few quarters demonstrating that while Rony Abovitz may have difficulty in creating a decent product, he is a genius at raising money. The current climate of cash hoarding and extreme caution is one of the worst times imaginable to be raising...