Back in 2006 when we first bought Microsoft, the market was concerned about the future of the company’s consumer division – even though it represented only five percent of total sales. We saw great long-term potential for Microsoft to transition its enterprise software business to a subscription-based model, which would... Show More
Fundamental analysts spend an inordinate amount of time with Microsoft Excel software trying to gauge the magnitude and direction of the future cash flow evolution of a company with detailed projections around revenue, margin and earnings trajectory. Yet over time, the lesson one learns is that, more often than not,... 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
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
India is home to the world’s largest biometric identity program. The Unique Identification Authority of India has spent seven years collecting fingerprints, iris and facial scans for over 1.167 billion enrolled citizens. The World Bank's Chief Economist, Paul Romer, described it as "the most sophisticated ID program in the world". 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
We recently attended one of the largest Enterprise Technology conferences globally, CeBIT in Hannover, Germany. The range of Technology verticals represented at CeBIT continues to be very impressive and includes sub sectors such as Data Analytics, Content Management, Artificial Intelligence, Cyber Security, Internet of Things, Virtual and Augmented Reality, (connected)... 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
A key change across the Antipodes Partners’ Funds over the quarter has been a broadening of the technology cluster to take advantage of observed valuation dispersion. Similar to the technology bubble and subsequent “tech wreck” at the turn of the century, the market’s focus has narrowed around higher growth “winners”... Show More
LiveTiles Limited (ASX: LVT) was recently acquired by Modun Resources Limited and relisted on the ASX on 18 September 2015. LiveTiles Design generates revenue and is a software tool that improves the user experience of Microsoft Sharepoint, an enterprise collaboration platform. LVT is in early stages of growth with no... Show More
This week we have witnessed Facebook (FB.US) become a $US250bn company. The fastest company to reach this milestone, amazingly now larger than BHP, CBA and Woolworths (WOW) combined. Mark Zuckerberg’s social network company, as illustrated in the movie “The Social Network”, was born only 11 years ago in a Harvard... Show More
About a month ago, Microsoft fired the last two executives entrusted with the Nokia vision, Stephen Elop and Jo Harlow. Last night it wrote off the entire US$7.6b it paid for Nokia just over a year ago. Show More
Apple vs Microsoft and the new tech threat - Stuart Miles, CEO of UK tech website Pocket-Lint.com. As Apple and Microsoft fight for market share, Stuart Miles, CEO and Founder of UK tech website Pocket-Lint.com believes Apple is becoming a lifestyle hardware brand, while Microsoft is focusing more on its... Show More
Xero has appointed major players from Microsoft, HP, and Paypal, and is now close to becoming a $5 billion company. The ASX:XRO, NZE:XRO share price is up yet again, and has now soared 640% in the last 15 months. The company is targeting a million users within five years. To... Show More