A Software Insider's Point of ViewDigital Giants

Big Tech and Market Reset Bring Optimism To Markets While many in the market are still psyching others into a recession, the fears are subsiding and the NASDAQ appears to be where the optimists are. Five factors have led to the mini rebound in this market of lowered expectations as watchers await the fed rate decision.:

Microsoft Faces Its Biggest Challenge Despite Its "Social" Standing Microsoft's CEO Satya Nadella’s and Vice Chair and President Brad Smith face their toughest challenge. There was always that belief that so long Microsoft acted like a“good citizen” on social issues they would be immune to anti-trust. That myth has been burst. The FTC has filed a lawsuit and a judge must decide if the case is strong enough to block the $69B deal. The FTC fears Microsoft will not provide titles for other platforms. Other headwinds include 16 countries that will have to approve the mega deal. China will probably block the deal to protect TenCent's position. Tencent also owns 5% of Activision.

All Eyes On Digital Giant Earnings With recession headwinds driving lower valuations and earnings uncertainty in high gear, the level of fear remains high. However, in the past week, NASDAQ was up 5.2%. So the big question,will these digital giants hold their gains ahead of earnings season?

Disintermediate or Be Disintermediated On September 15, 2022, Adobe announced the largest acquisition of a private software company and the largest acquisition in Adobe’s history. In a half cash, half stock deal for approximately $20 billion, San Francisco-based Figma would be acquired by San Jose-headquartered Adobe. Adobe is paying a 50 times annualized recurring revenue (“ARR”) multiple for Figma which is expected to surpass $400 million in ARR exiting 2022.

Not All Big Tech Companies Are Equally Created The MATANA stocks continue to do well despite a confluence of crises. MIcrosoft, Apple, Tesla, Alphabet, Nvidia, and Amazon, collectively showed that big tech, digital giants who:

WWDC Announcements Do Not Disappoint On June 6th, 2022, Apple made some of its most significant announcements in a decade at the World Wide Developer Conference (WWDC). The live, in-person, Apple Park event, showcased the power of having a vertically integrated silicon to software approach and the benefits that over 30 million registered developers across its entire portfolio will enjoy in creating new experiences and outcomes for Apple customers.

Disney's Performance Shows Strength and Depth Of Portfolio Quality balance sheets, predictable revenues are key to sustaining stock prices during this current market rout. Investors only care about future forecast guidance despite current quarterly performance. While Disney's Q1 2022 showed 23% YoY gains with $1.4 billion in operating profit, guidance has been muted in spite of the near pandemic comparables.

Speed Provides Exponential Advantage Speed has always been a critical success factor in winning wars on the battlefield. You need to move troops faster, reach targets more quickly, and strike with speed and precision. However, what is often not talked about is how the speed with which decisions are made plays a role in claiming victory.

Goodbye FAANG, Hello MATANA. The FAANG stocks (i.e. Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix, and Google) have had a great run as the large cap digital giant leaders. However, with Facebook and Netflix facing massive declines in year over year subscriber growth, their valuations have taken a hit along with the macro conditions of rising interest rates and global instability.

Over $8.5 Billion Invested In 241 Quantum Startups A recent analysis by Constellation Research found 241 companies in the Quantum Computing space in seven categories driving $8.512 billion in investment to date. A review of funding announcements, deals in pipe, and conversations with investors, demonstrated a tremendous appetite to fund all categories of the quantum ecosystem.

From Crypto Friendly To Crypto Non Grata The policy makers in the CCP now consider cryptocurrencies as a considerable threat to CCP China's quest to become both a global reserve currency and an opportunity to dethrone the dollar. Just a few years back, the CCP government may have thought that crytpos would help unseed the dollar, but something has changed...

THE AGE OF BIG TECH REGULATIONS HAS ARRIVED

Governments across the world seek to rein in the digital giants for political, economic, and societal rationale. While most digital giants have not flaunted the law, the public perception of their enormous size, massive scale, and unfair compe