In December I published an article concluding that Google’s Waymo autonomous car division was well ahead of the competition. I stand by that assessment, and its hardly controversial. But I underestimated how much Tesla’s promotion of its own efforts were confusing customers and potentially investors about their place in the... Show More
Apple made history on 2 August 2018, becoming the first company ever to reach one trillion US dollars in market value. Five weeks later Amazon followed, crossing the trillion dollar threshold intra-day momentarily. Show More
Autonomous transport still seems like science fiction: we know it is bound to come eventually, yet it is difficult to imagine in our daily lives. But self-driving cars are becoming a reality rapidly and this month Alphabet (Google) took us a step closer to that future. Waymo, Alphabet's autonomous car... Show More
As volatility has picked up in recent months, many investors who thought they were protected in a down-market have quickly discovered otherwise. Asset consultants have discussed the value of finding genuinely uncorrelated returns, while also acknowledging the difficulty of finding them. Show More
Buybacks can support stock prices by reducing share counts and boosting earnings per share, although that is no guarantee of producing a rising share price. Fundamentals such as revenues, underlying earnings trends, competitive prospects and interest rates still count for more. Show More
As we’ve reached the end of the first quarter calls in the US, we can take a snapshot of the tech sector and see what it may tell us about the future. Earnings reported by technology companies across a range of subsectors have been good. In the internet space, both... Show More
The FAANG stocks (Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix and Google/Alphabet) led the market up and participated in the recent correction. Their latest profit reports are an important guide to the sustainability of the tech sector's rise. Here we argue that on a Price Earnings Growth basis, they still look sharp. Show More
Strava is an app that styles itself as “the social network for those that strive”. Runners, cyclists and others use the app to track, share and compare their exertions and even determine a ‘Suffer Score’. Show More
Small and medium-sized fintechs could struggle to compete with Australia’s large banks. However, the global tech giants could cause major problems for the banks - if they targeted wide spread general commercial banking. Show More
The Dow Jones Industrial Average, the broader S&P 500 Index and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index have set record highs in 2017. A common theory as to why US share indices have risen is the increase in value of the so-called FAAMG stocks – Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft and Google... Show More
It has been about 10 years since the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) began to unfold. Very few were prepared for the financial damage that ensued. And it has permanently impacted the psyche of many market pundits. Since then, there has been no shortage of bear market predictions and lately there... Show More
Cable media stocks fell sharply after AT&T announced video subscriber losses, following Comcast and leading to $60 billion being wiped off their valuations. Investors love Netflix but competition is coming. Amazon may move into the $560bn prescription drug market. And more exciting technology developments in transport. Show More
This week the news was overrun with announcements by car makers expanding their electric vehicle ambitions. Elon Musk presented SpaceX's plans for colonisation of Mars, as well as rockets that could allow commuting to anywhere on Earth in an hour - for the price of an economy ticket. And Google... Show More
The ‘Dotcom’ crash of 2001 was a good old fashioned bubble. Many people were swept up in the euphoria as their expectations about future profits turned out to be nothing more than unfounded hope. For many Australians, it is a case of once bitten, twice shy. Roll forward 17 years,... Show More
Last Friday the US Technology Index fell almost 3%, with selling concentrated in the largest stocks: Facebook, Amazon, Netflix and Google (the so-called 'FANGs') plus Microsoft and Apple were all down 3-5%. The slide resumed on Wednesday and Thursday and investors must question whether this will continue. I think there... Show More
New global leaders don’t come up very often, so identifying them relatively early can have a huge effect on a portfolio. The iPhone came out ten years ago, and investors that bought Apple in 2007 are now sitting on a ~1000% return before dividends. So, how do you get one... Show More
The purpose of this analysis is to explore the risks and opportunities that come with what we call the ‘Modern Day Disruptors’. More specifically, we will look at the potential winners and losers from the perspective of a global equity investor and aim to answer the most important question: Will... Show More
As part of Livewire's 2017 Outlook Series we’ve asked 5 professional stock pickers for their views on the outlook for equities and their #1 stock pick for 2017. The panel features Matthew Kidman, Chris Stott, and Ben Clark who were the top three stock pickers from Livewire’s 2016 Outlook Series.... Show More
In a world of low growth, macro economic uncertainty and high equity market valuations we consider that at present the number of investment opportunities, even for a global equity investor are incredibly scarce. We do however see pockets of value, with the IT sector being one example. Show More