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...
Uber is a master at numerical storytelling. Uber produced mixed results but has benefitted substantially from the pick-up in demand for food delivery which helped it to paint a rosy picture of its outlook with numbers. Q1 2020 revenue / net income was $3.54bn / LOSS$2.94bn ahead of revenue forecasts of $3.28bn but below net income estimates of LOS$0.93bn. To...
One winner and one loser from the pandemic. Peloton Q1 2020 – Hardware heroin. Peloton reported excellent results as the virtual gym trend is accelerated by the pandemic but its dependence on hardware is worrying as Peloton is not Apple and competition here is going to be brutal. Q1 2020 revenues / EBIT were $525m / LOSS$58m far ahead of...
HelloFresh’s ability to execute under pressure is its greatest asset. Far from helping food delivery, the current pandemic seems to be accelerating the consolidation with HelloFresh emerging triumphant as it has been able to execute extremely well greatly boosting its brand and reputation with its customers. HelloFresh reported excellent Q1 2020 results as it is one of the few companies...
Intel further broadens its position in digital transportation. Determined not to miss out on digital transportation the way it missed out on mobile, Intel is moving again to build a position and this time, I think it may be getting it right. On top of a series of other transactions, Intel has agreed to buy Moovit, a transit data and...
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.
Huawei – Nowhere to run pt. XV
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...