Streaming wars – Starting gun.

Disney is out of the blocks in first position.  Disney has handsomely beaten expectations for its Disney+ service but at the same, the costs of fighting this war immediately become clear when one looks at the bottom line. At its Q4 19 results, Disney announced that it had 26.5m subscribers at the end of the quarter which has already grown...

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Alphabet – Wishful thinking

Google is not going to become Apple.   Google reported good Q4 19 results, but its greater disclosure unwittingly revealed that hardware has again let the side down and I fear that there is worse to come. Q4 19 revenue / EPS were $46.08bn / $15.35 below revenue estimates of $46.87bn but well above EPS a $12.52. However, revenue is...

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Digital automotive – Window of opportunity

Data from cars is better than data from phones for now.   When it comes to digital transportation services, I think that data that comes directly from the vehicle will be much more accurate and therefore, valuable, highlighting the opportunity that the OEMs still have provided they act in time. When it comes to transportation data, Google is currently the...

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Amazon & Uber – Cylinders and pockets.

Amazon Q4 19 – Almost all cylinders Amazon reported excellent results that completely overshadowed the hundreds of millions that Amazon is burning to win India as its investments in growing revenue are paying off but there still remains a long way to go when it comes to profitability. Q4 19 revenue / net income were $87.4bn / $3.3bn ahead of...

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Facebook & Tesla Q4 19 – Mixed bag.

Tesla Q4 19 – Own two feet Tesla’s results have already divided opinion, but while the valuation remains unjustifiable, I think my very long-term view that Tesla won’t survive needs a revisit. Tesla’s Q4 results demonstrated that it is becoming a proper car company and demonstrating the fact that high margins in vehicles are impossible. Q4 revenues / EPS were...

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Apple FQ1 20 – Big battery.

Battery life drives the earnings iPhone had a very good bounce off the lows of FQ1 19 driven by a recovery in China but a less than enthusiastic reception by the market and its valuation increase my inclination to take profits. FQ1 20 revenues / EPS were $91.82bn / $4.99 comfortably ahead of consensus at $88.41bn / $4.54. The story...

Scooters & bikes – Consolidation phase.

The bloodbath is not over. The bloodbath that is the micro-mobility market still has a long way to go before anyone has a hope of making any money let alone earning a positive return for investors. The latest round of consolidation involves the acquisition of Berlin-based Circ by Bird for an undisclosed sum. Given that Bird has just raised $350m...

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Google vs. Amazon – End game.

Assistants are too stupid for mass adoption. While growth in the digital assistant space is slowing, the battle looks like it is almost over although Google still has one or two tricks up its sleeve. The latest report from Voicebot.ai (see here and here) echoes the theme from CES 2020 which clearly pointed to a maturation of the digital assistant...

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Facebook Libra – Well populated graveyard.

Only users can save Libra. The loss of Vodafone is another nail in the coffin of Facebook’s digital currency Libra meaning that the only thing that can save it now will be wide-reaching engagement from Facebook users. I think that Libra has a lot going for it. Tencent has shown that a payment system inside a chat app can be...

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GM Cruise – Form over substance.

A vehicle with no launch date. GM Cruise has launched its first autonomous vehicle which has no launch date and about which I think questionable statements were made. The vehicle is named Origin and is a people mover with no driver controls and can comfortably seat 4 people. However, no details of its range, launch date or even cost were...

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