Blog

Yes, trillion with a ‘T’… is what many believe Microsoft will be worth after the company’s latest earnings results. Analysts have taken notice, raising price targets from $123 to $130 – to be worth $1 trillion Microsoft’s share price would need to hit $130.16.

Here’s how they are doing it… the company has shifted from selling software to a subscription-based cloud model. Azure cloud, business subscription to Office 365, and Dynamics 365 software were responsible for 25% of the company’s total revenue, up 3%. And not only is the cloud business growing, it appears to be adding to older products, such as Windows, rather than hurting it.

But there are concerns… such as whether Azure can reach the same level as Amazon Web Services (AWS). AWS was performing better when it was the same size as Azure is now. In other words, just because AWS has been a huge success does not mean Azure will do the same. We’re not saying that won’t happen – but don’t start counting your trillions of dollars just yet, Microsoft.

Read more

In 30 years… when most of us will be in our fifties (or beyond) we can do what all old people do – reference things that young people never knew existed. I think the millennial generation will include CD players, movie rental chains, and possibly rental car companies, to name a few. However, down 25% this year, rental car company Avis aims to avoid becoming just another part of an old person’s [deteriorating] memory.

We are skeptical because of… Uber and Lyft – who else? Investors are asking that same question. However, according to Avis CEO Larry De Shon, there is no need to be skeptical about his company’s long-term viability. City dwellers, businesspeople, and families all have use for renting a car rather than Uber-ing from place to place. Short-term trips that rideshare companies can often accommodate account for only 3% of rental business at Avis.

Avis won’t be left behind… and taken steps to adapt their business to changing customer needs, such as acquiring Zipcar in 2012, a company that provides rental cars at hourly rates. The rental-car company also has a partnership with Waymo, the self-driving subsidiary of Google. These changes, and more, should be enough to boost customer satisfaction and profits. Maybe rental-car companies aren’t destined to be forgotten after all.

Read more

It’s worth the trouble… to the point that Mastercard won a license to allow customers the ability to charge purchases using bitcoin as a currency. Currently, cardholders can only use a currency that the government has declared a legal tender.

But there are problems… including the fact that digital coin transactions take about 10 minutes to process. So currently, there are two options: the merchant trusts that you aren’t ripping them off (not gonna happen) or you stand there awkwardly for 10 minutes. But we all know that cryptocurrency is a work-in-progress, right?

A possible solution… because Mastercard could speed the process up by allowing you to instantly pay for things on a credit card with a fraction of your digital currency. However, just because there is a patent doesn’t mean it will ever happen. Regardless, this is still significant because it validates cryptocurrency even further – and we can believe it’s not just for [insert illegal activity here].

Read more

This app is probably useless to you… but it is useful for literally 1 billion other people on Earth. So stop making everything all about you – sheesh! The app, owned by tech giant Tencent, is called WeChat Pay and it allows users to scan a barcode to pay for items or services with a Chinese bank account.

Coming to America… yes, the Chinese tech giant is bringing WeChat Pay to America. After July, you will start seeing different merchants accepting this payment method. However, they aren’t focusing on making the app useful for those with US bank accounts; instead, WeChat Pay will cater to Chinese tourists in America.

Also coming to America… are plenty of Chinese tourists because the United States was the most popular travel destination for them in 2017 (except for Asia). And there is quite possibly a large market for this app to control. While that may sound like great news for the company, it does come with strings attached – such as getting enough merchants to accept their payment method. Although, who doesn’t enjoy the awkwardness of having their only payment method rejected in front of a bunch of strangers?

Read more

I can’t leave you hanging… after hyping up Prime Day in the preceding days – so here is what happened. People bought more on Amazon this past Monday than they did on Cyber Monday, Black Friday, and last year’s Prime Day – totaling over 100 million products sold.

Here’s what everyone bought… with the most popular items being Instant Pots, personal water filters, and the 23andMe DNA test. The big hits internationally were laundry detergent, smartphones, pans, light bulbs, and video games. Given all of the crap Amazon has to offer those purchases are shockingly uninteresting.

You could say it was a success… and that is in-spite of technical glitches that frustrated customers shortly after Prime Day went live. And while Amazon doesn’t release the actual results of their special day, it appears that its customers more than fed their appetite for water filters, DNA tests, and laundry detergent – we hope you got something nice, too.

Read more

You can’t do that… says the European Commission to Google after fining the company $5 billion for unfairly pushing its apps on smartphone users. This is the most substantial fine ever passed down by the European Commission and supposedly reflects the “serious and sustained nature” of Google’s violations.

Oh yes, we can… says Google to the European Commission stating that “Android has created more choice for everyone, not less.” For that reason, Google is appealing the decision – and when $5 billion is on the line, who can blame them? And who cares if Google forces manufacturers to install Google Search as a condition of doing business – it’s not like people would turn to Bing if Google weren’t forced upon them.

To put this in perspective… $5 billion is a drop in the bucket to a company like Google. Heck, they were whacked with a $2.8 billion antitrust fine last year, and it had little impact on the company. If Google wants to avoid further trouble, they have 90 days to stop what they have been doing, regardless of their appeal. But since they don’t believe they are doing anything wrong – what do they have to stop?

Read more

About four in 10… millennials are living in purchased homes and are deeply regretting not staying with their parents. Millennials are feeling buyer’s remorse according to a recent survey. Many even borrowed from their retirement savings (big no-no) to finance a down payment – all for the “joys” of homeownership.

Houses are expensive… not just the down payment, mortgage payment, utility payment(s), and so on. The joys of homeownership are found in the little things like mowing the lawn and fixing things that break – you know, things your landlord (or parents) should be doing. These tasks are time-consuming, costly, and often a mixture of both.

To avoid this trap… do your homework. Get the home inspected before agreeing to purchase it – you want to spend $15,000 on something cool, not on a foundation or electrical work. Also, be sure to figure out exactly what you need in a home because the pickier you are, the less likely you are to buy something you will regret.

Read more

Stick a form in ‘em… because Comcast is done with their pursuit of 21st Century Fox’s assets. Disney outbid Comcast by $6 billion with their most recent offer to obtain coveted franchises including “Avatar” and “X-Men.” The back-and-forth bidding war caused 21st Century Fox’s value to increase by a whopping 36%.

On to the next one… the next one being British broadcaster Sky. Unfortunately for Comcast, Disney has their sights set on acquiring the very same company. For Disney, winning Sky would be significant as it would allow for a direct-to-consumer platform in Europe. For Comcast, Sky would present a similar opportunity.

Not to be overly dramatic… but this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for both companies. Sky presents an opportunity for either company to expand globally with its 23 million paying subscribers in five European countries. The latest bid came from Comcast in the form of $34 billion. Now we are waiting to see if Disney will show us the money and defeat Comcast yet again.

Read more

eBay isn’t just a one-trick pony… they also own StubHub, a ticket-selling company with less-than-stellar second-quarter sales. What caused this you ask? Major League Baseball games getting rained out and the Warriors making easy work out of LeBron and the Cavs. Alexander Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals also ended the Stanley Cup Final rather swiftly.

To put it simply… everything that could have gone wrong for StubHub did. Baseball games that were scheduled were postponed to a later date, and playoff series ended 2-3 games sooner than they could have. The World Cup didn’t provide any relief to cover the shortfall, either.

It’s not all StubHub’s fault… that eBay shares dropped nearly 10% on Thursday. Ebay missed sales forecasts and lowered their revenue outlook for the rest of 2018 – two things that never bode well for any company. Ebay is currently being dwarfed by Amazon and the companies’ control 6.6% and 49.1% of e-commerce sales, respectively. It’s always Amazon, isn’t it?

Read more