Data Point

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Data Point

Deal Activity on the Rise as Bankers Say Merger Conversations Are Picking Up

By Rachel Graf · Jul 14, 2023 6:00am PDT · 4 comments
After more than a year of stalled merger and acquisition activity, the deals market is showing signs of life. Bankers, lawyers and private equity dealmakers say they’ve had more discussions about potential acquisitions in the past several weeks than in the past year. And “it’s not just kicking tires,” said Brian McPeake,... After more than a year of stalled merger and acquisition activity, the deals market is showing...
Chart by Mike Sullivan.
Data Point

Enterprise Software’s Laggards: Firms Growing Slowly And Still Burning Cash

By Akash Pasricha · May 23, 2023 7:47am PDT · 1 comment
It’s the age-old refrain in American business: You have to spend money to make money. And it’s particularly true of the tech industry, where startups pour millions into untested new businesses and technologies. Investors usually don’t mind companies burning cash as long as they’re growing quickly—but some enterprise... It’s the age-old refrain in American business: You have to spend money to make money. And...
Data Point

Wall Street’s Hiring Binge Turns Into Bloat

By Lauren Tara LaCapra · May 9, 2023 8:00am PDT · 1 comment
Morgan Stanley’s decision to cut roughly 5% of its staff, or 3,000 people, has drawn headlines as a sign of how banks are responding to the near-dead initial public offering and deal markets. But the cuts at Morgan Stanley, as at other banks, will only make a small dent in workforces that expanded sharply in the pandemic era. Between the... Morgan Stanley’s decision to cut roughly 5% of its staff, or 3,000 people, has drawn...
Pay Falls for Many Tech Workers as the Downturn Hits Home
By Kalley Huang · May 3, 2023 10:26am PDT · 4 comments
Data Point

Pay Falls for Many Tech Workers as the Downturn Hits Home

By Kalley Huang · May 3, 2023 10:26am PDT · 4 comments
Reduced profits and declining share prices hit many tech workers last year where it hurts—in their wallets. Median pay for employees declined in 2022 at at least 18 well-known tech companies, according to an analysis of securities filings by The Information. At two companies—Snap and Cloudflare—median pay declined more than... Reduced profits and declining share prices hit many tech workers last year where it...
Data Point

AI Push Drives Up Capex for Meta, Alphabet and Microsoft

By Martin Peers, Sylvia Varnham O'Regan and Akash Pasricha · May 1, 2023 6:00am PDT · 3 comments
Big tech companies such as Meta Platforms, Alphabet and Microsoft have become more careful about spending over the past few months, with each laying off thousands of people. But all three are ramping up spending on servers and other technical infrastructure to gain the capacity to build and sell more artificial intelligence tools. The spending... Big tech companies such as Meta Platforms, Alphabet and Microsoft have become more careful about...
Chart by Shane Burke.
Data Point

Why Tech Rally Left Behind Some Companies, Including Bill.com and Allbirds

By Akash Pasricha and Ann Gehan · Apr 25, 2023 6:00am PDT · 2 comments
It can be a brutal reality for investors: No matter how much a stock has fallen, it can still fall further. Take digital media firm BuzzFeed, which dropped 87% in 2022 and another 14% so far this year. Or electric truck maker Rivian, which plunged 82% last year and so far this year is down 33%. Both stocks are among a group of tech stocks that... It can be a brutal reality for investors: No matter how much a stock has fallen, it can still...
Data Point

Satellite Internet Plans from SpaceX and Others Deserve a Pinch of Salt

By Becky Peterson · Mar 29, 2023 6:00am PDT
If satellite internet providers like SpaceX’s Starlink have their way, the skies are going to get a lot more crowded with their orbiting antennas in the coming years—so crowded that it’s worth exercising a bit more skepticism about how many will actually get off the ground. Just last Sunday, British internet company OneWeb... If satellite internet providers like SpaceX’s Starlink have their way, the skies are going...
Chart by Shane Burke.
After Apple, Amazon May Face Pressure on Executive Pay This Year
By Mark Matousek · Jan 19, 2023 6:00am PST
Chart by Shane Burke.
Data Point

After Apple, Amazon May Face Pressure on Executive Pay This Year

By Mark Matousek · Jan 19, 2023 6:00am PST
Apple may not be the only tech company to cut its CEO’s target compensation this year. Apple drew headlines last week when it announced a 40% cut to Tim Cook’s target pay this year. What was more interesting is that it attributed that cut to a big increase in shareholders voting against its executive compensation at its annual... Apple may not be the only tech company to cut its CEO’s target compensation this year. ...
Chart by Mike Sullivan.
Data Point

Stripe and Instacart Fare Poorly in Fidelity Value Markdowns

By Maria Heeter · Jan 12, 2023 6:00am PST
Of all the private tech firms waiting to hit the public markets, Reddit and Discord look to stand the best chance of scoring the healthiest valuations. That’s based on where asset management firm Fidelity has been valuing its stakes in the companies. After an initial big markdown in the second quarter of 2022, when the stock market plunged... Of all the private tech firms waiting to hit the public markets, Reddit and Discord look to stand...
Chart by Mike Sullivan.
Data Point

Electric Vehicle Startups Face Cash Crunch

By Mark Matousek · Nov 30, 2022 6:16am PST · 2 comments
Startup makers of electric vehicles were one of the biggest beneficiaries of the SPAC party of 2020–21—and that fete is now well and truly in the hangover phase. At least a dozen EV startups have gone public since 2020, mostly by merging with a special purpose acquisition company, with grand ambitions to reinvent the way people and... Startup makers of electric vehicles were one of the biggest beneficiaries of the SPAC party of...
Data Point

Where Google Has Grown

By Jon Victor · Nov 28, 2022 6:00am PST · 1 comment
Alphabet has doubled the headcount in its Google Cloud unit since early 2019, according to data obtained by The Information, outstripping Alphabet’s overall hiring growth. The rapid growth helps explain why Google Cloud’s losses continue to widen even as its revenue grows rapidly. Google’s hardware unit and YouTube also each... Alphabet has doubled the headcount in its Google Cloud unit since early 2019, according to data...
Chart by Shane Burke
Laid-Off Tech Workers With Visas Face Deadline but Job Openings Remain
By Mark Matousek · Nov 21, 2022 9:01am PST
Chart by Shane Burke
Data Point

Laid-Off Tech Workers With Visas Face Deadline but Job Openings Remain

By Mark Matousek · Nov 21, 2022 9:01am PST
As recruiters fan out to try to grab the best workers Meta Platforms, Twitter, Amazon and other tech firms are laying off, one group of employees stands out as the easiest to hire: those on special visas who need to leave the U.S. if they don’t find another job in a few weeks. Tech companies for years have relied on people from overseas to... As recruiters fan out to try to grab the best workers Meta Platforms, Twitter, Amazon and other...
Data Point

Nine Public Tech Companies Worth Less Than What VCs Originally Invested

By Akash Pasricha · Nov 8, 2022 6:00am PST · 5 comments
At least nine tech companies that went public in the past three years—including Compass, Lyft, Oscar Health and The RealReal—are now worth less than the total amount of money they raised before going public. Let that sink in. The best example of that may be insurance tech firm Root. Venture capitalists including Tiger Global... At least nine tech companies that went public in the past three years—including Compass,...
Data Point

As Shopify Battles E-Commerce Slowdown, Lending Emerges as a Bright Spot

By Ann Gehan · Nov 7, 2022 6:00am PST
Shopify’s sales growth has evaporated over the past year as the boom in online spending sparked by the pandemic has dissipated. But the e-commerce software giant has focused on squeezing more money out of its existing merchants from the sale of other services. One notable way it’s doing that is by fronting money to cash-strapped... Shopify’s sales growth has evaporated over the past year as the boom in online spending...
Data Point

Google’s Cloud Deals Hit a Wall

By Amir Efrati · Nov 3, 2022 6:00am PDT · 7 comments
Alphabet Chief Financial Officer Ruth Porat told analysts last week that some customers of Google’s cloud servers and productivity apps “are taking longer to decide, and some have committed to deals with shorter terms or smaller deal sizes, which we attribute to a more challenging [macroeconomic] environment.” That was an... Alphabet Chief Financial Officer Ruth Porat told analysts last week that some customers of...
Chart by Shane Burke.
Apple, Microsoft and Alphabet Grapple With Bond Investment Losses
By Akash Pasricha · Oct 24, 2022 6:00am PDT · 2 comments
Chart by Shane Burke.
Data Point

Apple, Microsoft and Alphabet Grapple With Bond Investment Losses

By Akash Pasricha · Oct 24, 2022 6:00am PDT · 2 comments
The bond market’s historic sell-off this year, in response to rising interest rates, has been disastrous for retirees dependent on bonds for income. It’s been almost as bad for Apple, Microsoft and Alphabet, wiping out billions of dollars from the mountains of cash they’re sitting on. Worst hit is Apple, which reported that... The bond market’s historic sell-off this year, in response to rising interest rates, has...
Chart by Mike Sullivan.
Data Point

More Tech IPOs From 2021 Burn Cash Today Than 2019 and 2020 Debuts

By Akash Pasricha · Oct 4, 2022 8:00am PDT · 3 comments
If you want more evidence of how much of last year’s IPO market was a bubble, here it is. Nearly two-thirds of tech companies that went public in 2021 are now burning cash, compared with less than half of companies that went public in 2019 and 2020. That means far more of the companies that hit the public markets in 2021 were businesses in... If you want more evidence of how much of last year’s IPO market was a bubble, here it is....
Data Point

Tech IPOs in 2019 Are Up 38% While Those Since 2020 Have Fallen by About as Much

By Akash Pasricha · Sep 26, 2022 8:51am PDT · 2 comments
After the carnage in stock markets these past few months, you can’t really blame tech executives for rethinking the value of going public. Consider this: The median tech initial public offering since the start of 2020 has dropped 39% from the offering price. But another statistic may be more surprising. The median tech IPO from 2019 is up... After the carnage in stock markets these past few months, you can’t really blame tech...
Data Point

Venture Firms’ $290 Billion ‘Dry Powder’ is About to Revive Startup Funding

By Kate Clark · Sep 20, 2022 6:00am PDT · 9 comments
Startup founders should expect a tidal wave of venture capital interest next year as a record level of dry powder pressures VC funds to step up their investment pace, according to a new analysis of these cash reserves. U.S. VC investors are sitting on $290 billion, including $162 billion reserved specifically for new investments, according to... Startup founders should expect a tidal wave of venture capital interest next year as a record...
Chart by Mike Sullivan.
How Snap’s Pandemic Hiring Frenzy Set It Up for Mass Layoffs
By Akash Pasricha · Aug 31, 2022 9:49am PDT · 1 comment
Chart by Mike Sullivan.
Data Point

How Snap’s Pandemic Hiring Frenzy Set It Up for Mass Layoffs

By Akash Pasricha · Aug 31, 2022 9:49am PDT · 1 comment
Snap’s decision, announced Wednesday, to shrink its workforce 20% marks the biggest round of layoffs at a prominent internet ad firm so far in this downturn, at least in percentage terms. The cuts put Snap in the company of startups that went on overly optimistic hiring binges and crypto firms that got caught flat-footed by the crypto... Snap’s decision, announced Wednesday, to shrink its workforce 20% marks the biggest round...