Social Media Networks On The Up!
Time for your weekly dose of all-things-financial to set you up for the trading week ahead. Today, we’re going to have a look at some of the social media networks to see how they’ve been doing for the last 6 months. After that, we’ll have a peek at all of the trading events that you need to look out for this week.
1. Facebook (FB)
Stock price on 27.03: 156.79 USD
Stock price on 25.09: 254.82 USD
% change: +62.52%
FB stock price, 6 months
Source: Google
FB had a pretty exceptional few months, up until September. It’s value climbed to an all-time high of almost $305 at the end of August. Like many of its contemporaries, Facebook then fell victim to a larger sell-off in the technology industry, which drove the stock price down nearly 20%.
Despite that, downloads of both Facebook and the Facebook-owned Instagram apps have been buoyant throughout this period and they seem to be starting to hold their own against new kid on the block TikTok. It does seem like this downward stock price might only be temporary.
Global monthly downloads from Google Play and Apple Stores (in millions)
Source: Statista
With another presidential election just around the corner, eyes are on Facebook for all the wrong reasons. The company has certainly gone out of its way to shake off the disaster of the 2016 election and all of those negative headlines.
Can it keep itself on the right side of the line this time? We’re about to find out.
2. Twitter (TWTR)
Stock price on 27.03: 25.29 USD
Stock price on 25.09: 43.84 USD
% change: +73.35%
TWTR stock price, 6 months
Source: Google
Last week was an awesome week in a superb 6 month run for Twitter. Shares jumped over 6% last Wednesday on the news that Pivotal Research analyst Michael Levine had boosted his rating on Twitter’s stock from hold to buy.
Twitter has always struggled to effectively monetize its platform and investors have been all too wary of that, but Friday’s close price is the company’s highest-high since July 2018. So, why the positivity?
Levine highlighted the company’s moves to make it easier for new users to join the platform and start tweeting; as well as their direct-response marketing initiatives. There’s also a lot of talk about the 2021 Olympics and how that event may boost engagement on the platform.
Has Twitter’s time finally arrived?
3. Tiktok
Stock price on 27.03: 0 USD
Stock price on 25.09: 0 USD
% change: N/A
Tiktok is still technically a privately owned company, officially owned and operated by Chinese firm Bytedance.
However, you’ve probably heard that the US operations of the company have recently (begrudgingly) been up for grabs. 2 weeks ago, Microsoft and Oracle (of all companies?!) went head-to-head in a bidding war, which was won by Oracle at the 11th hour.
That sale is all the more important now, following yesterday’s ruling upholding Trump’s ban on app downloads (part of the US-China Trade War sanctions.)
We should expect a formal sale announcement soon, but it’s not hard to see why two of the US’ biggest companies were so keen to make their move on this one. The video-sharing app already has a huge teen following and plenty of room to grow.
Source: Statista
4. LinkedIn
Stock price on 27.03: 0 USD
Stock price on 25.09: 0 USD
% change: N/A
It may surprise you to learn that the go-to professional network isn’t actually a publicly-traded company. Since December 2016 it has been a wholly-owned subsidiary of Microsoft.
It’s a valuable member of Bill Gates’ treasure trove, though. As of May 2020, LinkedIn had 706 million registered members in 150 countries.
2020 has been a good year for the platform, too. With many forced into lockdown, the company announced that it would offer free learning resources to help professionals train themselves up. This seems to have worked and “LinkedIn” has been a high-trending search term ever since.
Search interest over time, LinkedIn
Source: Google Trends
A Real Social Dilemma?
Some social media users are currently having a re-think about maintaining their social media presence following the release of new Netflix documentary-drama, “The Social Dilemma”.
The 90-minute programme focuses on the downsides of the major tech platforms. Interviews with former Google and Facebook employees effectively ring the alarm bells on their own creations.
The internet is currently full of comments from shocked social media users who state their intention to delete the apps, switch off notifications and even “…take back control of their minds”… Whether this actually happens, remains to be seen.
We’ll definitely be keeping close tabs on those app downloads over the next month or so. Will our social media stalwarts begin to wobble?
This week’s market events
Here’s what to watch this week:
Monday 28th September
No major events scheduled.
Tuesday 29th September
No major events scheduled.
Wednesday 30th September
● China will announce its NBS Manufacturing PMI for September (CNY)
● The UK’s GDP QoQ growth rate (Q2) will be unveiled (GBP)
● The US will update us on its Q2 YoY GDP growth rate (USD)
Thursday 1st October
● The US will unveil its Markit and ISM Manufacturing PMIs (USD)
Friday 2nd October
● Finally, an important Friday starts with the EU announcing its Core Inflation Rate YoY for September (EUR)
● The US will then reveal its Non-Farm Payrolls and unemployment rates for September (USD).
Here at Contentworks we closely follow market movements and prep content that we think your traders would love to read. Let’s get you started right here.
Speak soon,
The Contentworks team
