Xiaomi – Foot shot.

Reply to this post           Profitability limit is a shot in the foot. Voluntarily limiting one’s ability to make money for shareholders is not the wisest course of action when one is about to try and entice them to buy more shares at a $100bn valuation. Xiaomi has stated that it will ensure that its net...

Facebook Q1 18 – Eye of the storm

Reply to this post           There is worse to come. Facebook reported excellent Q1 18 results, but in my opinion, has yet to experience the impact of its current problems on its financial performance. I see this resulting in a relief rally, that represents an excellent opportunity to reduce holdings. Q1 18 revenues / adj-EPS were...

Electric Autos – Long life

Reply to this post           Long life may not bring prosperity. Data being gathered on Tesla’s battery performance is pointing to a range of 500,000 miles before 20% of the battery capacity depleted. This echoes RFM’s automotive ecosystem research (see here) which uses a 20% battery capacity depletion as the point at which the vehicle needs...

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Alphabet Q1 – The price of growth

Reply to this post           Google is faring better than its peers. Alphabet reported great results and appears to be nicely avoiding the fall-out from Facebook, but continued growth is coming at the cost of both higher TAC (Traffic Acquisition Costs) as well as OPEX investments. Q1 18 revenues / adj-EPS were $31.15bn / $9.93 nicely...

Facebook – Bipedal voting

Reply to this post           The only vote is the one by foot. There comes a time in every company’s history when rapid action is needed to avert disaster. Facebook’s current predicament is starting to look like that time and the reaction by Facebook so far increasingly looks like the actions of a company that knows...

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Google vs. Amazon – Battle for the smart home pt. IX

Reply to this post           LG starts the trend. LG is the first to execute on a trend that I have long predicted and one which will move the battle for the smart home completely into the realm of software and user experience. LG USA has announced that all of its WiFi connected SmartThinQ home appliances...

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ZTE – Software not silicon

Reply to this post ZTE could lose Google. I think that ZTE’s real problem from its 7-year ban on acquiring technology from US companies, will be its inability to ship Google Ecosystem devices which could decimate its business outside China. According to Counterpoint Research (see here), ZTE shipped 44.6m Android smartphones in 2017 of which around 10.9m were sold in...

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Mobile Gaming – Declining empire?

Reply to this post Forward indicators for games look tough. Gaming had a good 2017 on mobile devices, but the data is pointing a rapid changing of the guard in terms of the services that generate the most income for developers. Data from Sensor Tower (see here) indicates that games were by far the biggest revenue generator for developers in...

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Android security – Swiss cheese pt. VI.

Reply to this post Yet another glaring omission. Android’s already poor security takes another leg down as it transpires that many Android handset makers are not applying security patches although whether this makes Android devices less secure in practice remains open for debate. Research carried out by Security Research Labs (SRL) of Germany (see here) has shown that not only...

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Facebook & Co. – Broken valley pt. II

Reply to this post Go slower with no cock-ups. Beneath the polished performance lies a company with its reputation in ruins and whose indicators are going the wrong way. Its arch rival Google does not “move fast and break things” and is now reaping the benefit of “go slower with no cock-ups”. Mark Zuckerberg put in another polished performance yesterday...