The Information

SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son. Photo by Bloomberg.

SoftBank Takes the Lion’s Share of Vision Fund Gains

By Alfred Lee · Nov 8, 2017 7:00am PST

SoftBank stands to win or lose the most from its $97.7 billion Vision Fund, while outside investors face much less risk, but also stand to get far less of the upside. It’s a reminder that all investors aren’t created equal. As a result of the fund’s unusual structure, SoftBank could take more than half of the gains if the fund... SoftBank stands to win or lose the most from its $97.7 billion Vision Fund, while outside...

Snapchat app is seen on an iPhone. Photo by AP

Will Snap’s Bet on the Cloud Pay Off?

By Tom Dotan · Aug 23, 2017 7:00am PDT · 9 comments

When Snap disclosed earlier this month that its server bills, on a per user basis, rose in the second quarter, it reignited a longstanding question about whether the company can scale up its business while relying on public cloud services run by Google and Amazon Web Services.Snap revealed that the amount it paid out to these services jumped 10%... When Snap disclosed earlier this month that its server bills, on a per user basis, rose in the...

A scene from HBO's Game of Thrones. Photo by HBO.

Will AT&T Throttle HBO?

By Martin Peers and Tom Dotan · Jul 25, 2017 7:00am PDT · 2 comments

HBO has been flying high on the backs of dragons, but it has done little to face down the rising beast of Netflix over the past five years. With a widely recognized brand name and deep pockets, HBO could have tried to match Netflix as the streaming service quadrupled spending on films and TV shows. But that’s not what happened.HBO raised... HBO has been flying high on the backs of dragons, but it has done little to face down the rising...

Snap stock signs on the New York Stock Exchange at the time of its IPO in early March. Photo by Bloomberg.

Why Snap Stock May Have Further to Fall

By Martin Peers · Jun 29, 2017 7:00am PDT · 4 comments

Snap stock signs on the New York Stock Exchange at the time of its IPO in early March. Photo by Bloomberg.

Why Snap Stock May Have Further to Fall

By Martin Peers · Jun 29, 2017 7:00am PDT · 4 comments

Since Snap went public in early March, good news for the stock has proved as ephemeral as messages on the Snapchat app. The occasional positive development has given the stock a lift for a day or two, until it sinks back down.And it’s likely to sink even further in coming weeks. Most of the early shareholders in Snap will be freed from... Since Snap went public in early March, good news for the stock has proved as ephemeral as...

Blue Apron provides fresh ingredients for cooking. Photo by The Associated Press.

Blue Apron Maintains Edge in Recipe for Growth, but Competition Looms

By Alfred Lee · Jun 6, 2017 7:01am PDT · 3 comments

Among the surprises in Blue Apron’s IPO filing last week was that at first blush, it looked worse off than its biggest competitor in meal delivery services, HelloFresh. But a closer look suggests that Blue Apron is positioned to be worth more than HelloFresh in the long run. In the first three months of this year, Blue Apron posted a... Among the surprises in Blue Apron’s IPO filing last week was that at first blush, it looked...

Employees work at Spotify's offices in Berlin. Photo: Bloomberg

Spotify’s Prospects Hinge on Echoing Netflix’s Success

By Alfred Lee · May 31, 2017 7:01am PDT · 3 comments

Spotify’s stock has leapt to a $13 billion valuation on the secondary market, up from around $8 billion at the end of last year. It reportedly wants to go public at that new price.Whether that price is justified depends on the answer to a question that investors are asking: How much is Spotify like Netflix? There are two ways it could be... Spotify’s stock has leapt to a $13 billion valuation on the secondary market, up from...

Why Snap May Want to Sell Soon

By Tom Dotan · Apr 17, 2017 12:12pm PDT · 7 comments

There’s no longer any doubt that Facebook is gunning for Snap, relentlessly copying many of its features. And while the evidence that Snap’s growth has been directly affected by Instagram is still anecdotal—even with internal studies—the threat to its current business model is real. Yet Snap CEO Evan Spiegel's mantra... There’s no longer any doubt that Facebook is gunning for Snap, relentlessly copying many of...

Mic co-founder Jake Horowitz. Photo by Flickr/Knight Center for Journalism

Digital Media Firms Raise More Money—and More Questions

By Tom Dotan · Mar 30, 2017 7:01am PDT · 2 comments

Mic co-founder Jake Horowitz. Photo by Flickr/Knight Center for Journalism

Digital Media Firms Raise More Money—and More Questions

By Tom Dotan · Mar 30, 2017 7:01am PDT · 2 comments

We’re already a few months into 2017 and if the recent spate of digital media investments are any indication, investors still have an appetite for them. But the fundraisings may only be delaying a consolidation that remains inevitable in the crowded media field.The Information has learned millennial news site Mic is quietly putting... We’re already a few months into 2017 and if the recent spate of digital media investments...

AT&T Randall Stephenson and Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes. Photo by Bloomberg.

What Holds AT&T Back in Battle with Netflix and Amazon

By Martin Peers · Nov 10, 2016 10:01am PST · 3 comments

If Donald Trump follows through on his promise to block AT&T’s purchase of Time Warner, the telecom firm will escape a potentially disastrous combination with a company whose TV business faces long term declines. But in the near term, AT&T will miss out on the profit boost Time Warner would have given it.And that has implications... If Donald Trump follows through on his promise to block AT&T’s purchase of Time Warner,...

Merchants who use Etsy display their wares outside the Nasdaq MarketSite in New York the day Etsy went public last year. Photo by Bloomberg.

How Etsy is Becoming a Services Firm

By Alfred Lee · Oct 27, 2016 9:31am PDT · 1 comment

Online craft marketplace Etsy, considered one of last year’s IPO duds, has seen its stock rebound like the handmade bouncy ball cat toys it sells ($5 for two, with felted wool and organic catnip). It’s more than doubled to above $13 in recent months, closer to its $16 IPO price than it has been for a while.Yes, it’s fended off... Online craft marketplace Etsy, considered one of last year’s IPO duds, has seen its stock...

Oracle Executive Chairman Larry Ellison. Photo by Bloomberg.

As Oracle’s Offer Flounders, What’s Next for NetSuite?

By Steve Nellis · Oct 26, 2016 10:01am PDT

Oracle Corp. has set a hard deadline of Nov. 4 for shareholders in NetSuite to accept or reject its $9.3 billion offer to purchase the cloud financial software maker. That puts the pressure on T. Rowe Price, an 18% shareholder in the company, to accept a deal it has so far rejected. The mutual fund firm contends that Oracle founder Larry... Oracle Corp. has set a hard deadline of Nov. 4 for shareholders in NetSuite to accept or reject...

Palantir co-founder Alexander Karp. Photo by Bloomberg.

Investor Question: How to Define Palantir

By Alfred Lee and Steve Nellis · Oct 13, 2016 10:02am PDT · 3 comments

Palantir co-founder Alexander Karp. Photo by Bloomberg.

Investor Question: How to Define Palantir

By Alfred Lee and Steve Nellis · Oct 13, 2016 10:02am PDT · 3 comments

Question: Is data analytics firm Palantir a software or services company? The answer may determine whether you think it’s worth $20 billion or $8 billion.Palantir uses software it has designed to mine data on behalf of companies and government agencies, helping address everything from cybersecurity to supply chain efficiency. While... Question: Is data analytics firm Palantir a software or services company? The answer may...

Honest Co. founder Jessica Alba. Photo by Bloomberg.

Why Honest Company’s Value May Have Dropped

By Alfred Lee · Sep 20, 2016 10:02am PDT · 4 comments

The Honest Company has reportedly been in talks to sell itself at a price well below its last valuation of $1.7 billion. Some back-of-the-envelope math gives a hint why its valuation may have come down—and suggests investors will make out fine anyway.Investors who bought in at that higher valuation might have been banking on Honest Co.... The Honest Company has reportedly been in talks to sell itself at a price well below its last...

At Nasdaq on the day Etsy went public. Photo by AP.

Employee Stock May Offer Clues to IPO Prices

By Alfred Lee · Sep 14, 2016 1:04pm PDT · 1 comment

If you want to gauge where a tech company will price an upcoming public offering, don’t bother looking at the value of its last fundraising. Instead, check out the employee stock option price.For instance, enterprise software firm Apptio said on Monday it expects to go public at a price range of between $13 and $15 a share. That’s... If you want to gauge where a tech company will price an upcoming public offering, don’t...

Tesla CEO Elon Musk. Photo by Bloomberg.

The Debt Hurdles Facing Elon Musk

By Alfred Lee · Sep 8, 2016 11:33am PDT

It’s no secret Elon Musk may have bitten off more than he can chew by proposing a merger of Tesla and SolarCity, two debt-laden and money-losing companies he partly owns. Just how much of a bite is now clearer.Projections for both companies disclosed in a securities filing last week suggest the combined firm will have to raise around $5... It’s no secret Elon Musk may have bitten off more than he can chew by proposing a merger of...

Stephan Vermut, a Prosper director and a former executive chairman of the company. Photo by Bloomberg.

The Falling Price of Prosper

By Alfred Lee · Aug 31, 2016 7:02am PDT · 4 comments

Stephan Vermut, a Prosper director and a former executive chairman of the company. Photo by Bloomberg.

The Falling Price of Prosper

By Alfred Lee · Aug 31, 2016 7:02am PDT · 4 comments

Few tech sectors have fallen from grace as dramatically in the last year as online lending, as an exodus of investors has weakened supply of funding for loans. Take Prosper Marketplace, which raised money at a $1.9 billion valuation in April last year. Based on lower public market valuations and Prosper’s recent sharp revenue declines, the... Few tech sectors have fallen from grace as dramatically in the last year as online lending, as an...

Hewlett Packard Enterprise CEO Meg Whitman. Photo by Bloomberg.

Can HPE Spend Its Way to Growth?

By Kevin McLaughlin · Aug 10, 2016 10:01am PDT

Next month will mark five years since Meg Whitman joined Hewlett Packard. In that time she has streamlined the once-iconic Silicon Valley giant, including last year’s separation of the enterprise businesses from the consumer products operations. Now the question is what comes next, for both Ms. Whitman and the company she still runs,... Next month will mark five years since Meg Whitman joined Hewlett Packard. In that time she has...

Vice CEO Shane Smith. Photo by Bloomberg.

Questions Grow on Digital Media Valuations

By Tom Dotan · Jun 6, 2016 10:01am PDT · 2 comments

In the last 12 months, a rush of investments in digital media companies has pumped up valuations. Disney invested in Vice at a $4 billion valuation, the same value it paid for Star Wars’ maker Lucasfilm in 2012. NBCUniversal invested in BuzzFeed at a $1.5 billion valuation. A handful of other online publishers got valuations in the... In the last 12 months, a rush of investments in digital media companies has pumped up valuations....

Jeff Bezos. Photo by AP.

Amazon’s AWS Conundrum

By Steve Nellis · Nov 30, 2015 7:02am PST

Amazon Web Services is by far the dominant cloud computing company, so far leaving rivals like Google and Microsoft in the dust. As it gets bigger, the question of whether it fits within Amazon.com is likely to loom larger.Breaking apart Amazon would be complicated, for various operational and financial reasons. It likely isn’t something... Amazon Web Services is by far the dominant cloud computing company, so far leaving rivals like...

Apple's senior vp for worldwide marketing, Phil Schiller. Photo by Bloomberg.

How Apple’s Payment Plan Affects Revenue

By Alfred Lee · Sep 17, 2015 7:06am PDT

Apple's senior vp for worldwide marketing, Phil Schiller. Photo by Bloomberg.

How Apple’s Payment Plan Affects Revenue

By Alfred Lee · Sep 17, 2015 7:06am PDT

Since Apple unveiled its monthly payment plan for iPhones, the consensus on Wall Street is that it could help sustain strong sales of the high-priced devices. On the flip side: Apple may be required to defer into the future some of the revenue it receives from phones sold under the plan instead of recognizing it all upfront, according to several... Since Apple unveiled its monthly payment plan for iPhones, the consensus on Wall Street is that...