Social Networks See Big Uplift During Pandemic
Quarantine, self-isolation, enforced lockdowns… all these things go against our basic human need for social contact. Social networking has been key, but have social media companies stepped up? This week, we’ll take a look at the performance of some of the top social stocks, before going over the biggest blips on your weekly trading radar. Let’s go!
Social media in the spotlight
Let’s look at the health of the companies behind the biggest digital chatterboxes on the planet.
Note: Social media is a bit of a minefield when it comes to ownership, so where there’s no specific stock, we’ll take a look at that of the parent company (if they themselves are publicly listed!).
Facebook, Inc. (FB)
Facebook, Instagram, Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp
Price on 01.06: 231.91 USD
Price on 27.11: 277.81 USD
% change: +19.8%
Facebook recently revealed that its monthly active users in the US and Canada declined slightly in Q3, and it expects this trend to continue. Globally speaking, things couldn’t really be more chipper!
Facebook’s revenue jumped 22% to $21.47 billion compared to last year. Net income increased 29% to $7.85 billion year-over-year.
Facebook had a gigantic 2.74 billion monthly active users at the end of Q3, up 12% on 2019. If you add all of their various app users together, you’re talking 3.21 billion users (almost 50% of the globe), an increase of 14%. Wowza.
FB stock, June-November, 2020
Source: Google
Twitter, Inc (TWTR)
Price on 01.06: 31.89 USD
Price on 27.11: 46.59 USD
% change: +46%
Twitter added 2 million more daily active users to its ranks in Q3, taking it to 188 million. That’s a pretty lovely 29% YoY rise. Like Facebook, though, its US user base was pretty flat and globally, that’s a massive slowdown on Q2, in which it added 20 million users.
All signs point to uncertain times ahead. But it’s Twitter, anything else would be weird, right?
TWTR stock, June-November, 2020
Source: Google
Snap Inc. (SNAP)
Snapchat
Price on 01.06: 19.55 USD
Price on 27.11: 46.03 USD
% change: +135.4%
That sweet price bump on the chart below was due to the release of Snap’s Q3 earnings report. Stock prices soared more than 22% as the company posted an unexpected profit along with positive user and revenue growth.
Snapchat’s daily active users are at 249 million, up about 4% from the 238 million the company reported in July. Snap’s net loss fell to $200 million, down nearly 12% from $227 million last year.
SNAP stock, June-November, 2020
Source: Google
Microsoft Corporation (MSFT)
LinkedIn, Skype
Price on 01.06: 182.83 USD
Price on 27.11: 215.23 USD
% change: +17.7%
Unlike tech giants Google and Facebook, Microsoft doesn’t generate the majority of its revenue from advertising, which is a good thing where global pandemics are concerned. It had a cracking Q3, raking in $35 billion in revenue.
Of course, not all of that comes from LinkedIn, but the professional social network’s revenue did jump a solid 21%, adding to the more than epic double-digit growth that it’s shown since Microsoft’s acquisition in 2016.
MSFT stock, June-November, 2020
Source: Google
Alphabet (GOOGL)
YouTube, Google Meet, Google Duo
Price on 01.06: 1434.87 USD
Price on 27.11: 1787.02 USD
% change: +24.5%
Alphabet had a strong Q3, as can be seen from the chart below. The Google parent company generated revenues of $46.2 billion and a net income of $11.2 billion. Shares jumped 8.5% on the day, which is more than any other stock listed here saw after sharing their Q3 report.
A key factor in those numbers? Yup, you guessed it — YouTube. YouTube ad revenue rose to $5 billion, from $3.8 billion in Q3 2019, which was also a cool $500 million more than expected.
YouTube now has more than 30 million music and premium paid subscribers — 35 million, including free trials — and YouTube TV has more than 3 million subscribers.
GOOGL stock, June-November, 2020
Source: Google
ByteDance, Ltd.
Tiktok
Okay, not as easy to assess the health of this one as Bytedance, Tiktok’s parent company, is privately listed. While rumours of an IPO circulate faster than the network’s insane user growth, nothing is confirmed. For now, let’s look at what we do know.
As of October 2020, Tiktok has 850 million monthly active users. That’s up from 680 million in November 2018. In April, Sensortower shared that the app had been downloaded 2 billion times worldwide.
Tiktok is a heavyweight, no doubt. But the focus remains on that Chinese ownership and the difficulty it brings with being able to operate in the US right now. Last week, the outgoing Trump administration gave ByteDance 7 more days to sort out its US ownership issue, with the deadline on December the 4th (Friday). Is this Tiktok’s make or break moment?
What’s going on in the markets this week?
We recommend keeping an eye on the following events.
Monday
● NBS Manufacturing PMI (CNY)
● Eurogroup Video Conference (EUR)
Tuesday
● The RBA will announce Australia’s Interest Rate Decision (AUD)
● Canada will announce its GDP Growth Rate Annual and QoQ (CAD)
● The US will announce some important PMIs, namely the Markit Manufacturing PMI and ISM Manufacturing PMI (USD)
Wednesday
● The Aussies will unveil their GDP Growth Rate YoY (AUD)
Thursday
No major events scheduled.
Friday
● Canada will give us a glimpse at its Unemployment Figures (CAD)
● Finally, the US will unveil it’s crucial Non Farm Payrolls and give an employment update (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
