Salesforce.com is a leader in the customer relationship management industry. The company has built its moat on the back of its network effect and strong brand.
Salesforce’s acquisition spree Earlier in this series, we discussed Salesforce’s (CRM) recent acquisition of Sequence. We also looked at why companies such as Salesforce and IBM (IBM) are increasingly drawn towards the digital agency space. Of late, Salesforce has been on an acquisition spree. Since 2006, Salesforce has made 44 acquisitions, according to Crunchbase. In the past […]
IBM’s acquisitions to boost Watson Since its inception, IBM (IBM) has been betting heavily on Watson, its cognitive computing platform, to steer the company toward much-needed growth. As expected, Watson was IBM’s highlight in 2016 and is expected to be in 2017 as well. Considering IBM’s acquisitions to equip Watson in the healthcare space, namely […]
Calendar 2016 marks the second year on record in which tech deals accounted for the majority of M&As. Prior to 2016, 2000 saw the highest number of deals.
As Facebook (FB) has avoided selling ads on WhatsApp, it could use facial recognition technology from FacioMetrics to make the app more attractive for paid business-to-customer communication.
The Harbor Capital Appreciation Fund Investor Class (HCAIX) has had a terrible 2016. It’s the second-worst performer YTD among the 12 funds in this review.
Another factor in Salesforce’s opposition to the Microsoft-LinkedIn deal is data. LinkedIn’s acquisition would provide Microsoft with access to large data sets,
In response to the antitrust issues raised by Salesforce, the European Union’s competiton chief stated that she would “keep a close eye on how companies use that data.”
Twitter trades at lower multiples than its peers Earlier in this series, we discussed rumors of Twitter’s (TWTR) possible acquisition and how Salesforce (CRM), Google (GOOG), and The Walt Disney Company (DIS) could be contenders. In this part, we’ll compare Twitter’s value proposition with that of other companies in the social media space. As of […]
Twitter could be a viable alternative Earlier in this series, we discussed ongoing rumors of Twitter (TWTR) becoming a part of Salesforce (CRM). In 2012, Salesforce entered into a partnership with Twitter, under which the latter was feeding data related to social media into Salesforce’s analytics systems. Twitter is not the first social media company […]
Twitter’s ad revenue growth is slowing down Earlier in this series, we discussed Salesforce’s (CRM), Google’s (GOOG), and The Walt Disney Company’s (DIS) interest in Twitter (TWTR). We also learned that it is the movement of advertising dollars towards the social media space that has put Twitter in the limelight. Twitter’s primary source of revenue […]
Oracle’s SaaS (software-as-a-service) and PaaS (platform) revenues grew 48% to ~$2.8 billion in fiscal 2016, as compared to ~$1.9 billion in fiscal 2015.
Oracle is scheduled to report its fiscal 1Q17 results on September 16. Analysts expect revenues and non-GAAP EPS to be $8.7 billion and $0.58, respectively.
In May, Microsoft announced that it would be closing its MSN Chinese web portal in June to focus on providing software and services for Windows 10 devices.
Microsoft (MSFT) is scheduled to release its fiscal 4Q16 and 2016 earnings after the Market closes on July 19, 2016. For fiscal 4Q16, Estimize expects Microsoft to report revenue of $22.1 billion.
According to Rodman & Renshaw’s Raghuram Selvaraju, Valeant’s underlying assets are not fairly valued by the market and the company is capable of making a turnaround.
Out of 43 analysts covering Twitter, 13 have given it a “buy” recommendation, five have given it a “sell” recommendation, and 25 have given it a “hold” recommendation.
Social media platform Twitter (TWTR) is going through its toughest phase since its launch in July 2006. Twitter’s issues include a volatile stock price, stagnating user growth, the departure of key executives, and core product issues.
Microsoft paid a 50% premium to LinkedIn’s June 10 closing price. At 7.5x revenues and 75x EBITDA, Microsoft is paying a lot. LinkedIn is a unique property.
LinkedIn will be a standalone entity within Microsoft. This transaction is part of Microsoft’s plan to focus on cloud-based offerings. It wants to rely less on PCs.
According to 451 Research, ~42% of mobile apps projects are controlled by business managers or marketing teams, rather than by corporate IT departments.
Morgan Stanly downgraded LinkedIn from “overweight” to “equal-weight” on March 16, and on March 17, its stock fell by 4.6% for the trailing-five-day period.
In December 2015, LinkedIn (LNKD) entered the era of mobile communications with its revamped Project Voyager app, which was designed to streamline the user experience and user interface.
LinkedIn (LNKD) invests aggressively in Sponsored Updates, with the aim of incorporating additional functionalities and streamlining the process of targeting ads for the marketers.
The leading professional networking site, LinkedIn (LNKD) is finding it difficult to keep its stock price up since it announced its 4Q15 earnings. The company’s shares have seen a significant fall of 43% to a three-year-plus low of $102.90.
Due to its diversified business model and double-digit growth in billings and revenues, Palo Alto Networks stock has had a successful run in 2015. But 2016 didn’t start out very well.
As of February 24, 2016, Twitter (TWTR) has generated returns of -62.9% for the trailing 12 months (or TTM) and -5.8% in the trailing-one-month period.
In 2016, Salesforce stock has shed close to 30% of its value. According to S&P Global Market Intelligence data, Salesforce stock fell by ~13% in January 2016.
Tableau Software’s (DATA) and LinkedIn’s (LNKD) issuance of weaker-than-expected guidance for 2016 caused technology stocks to fall like a ton of bricks in February 2016.
In early February 2016, Fortinet’s stock and that of its peers showed volatility, falling on February 5 with Palo Alto, FireEye, CyberArk, and Proofpoint.
On February 4, 2016, LinkedIn (LNKD) announced its 4Q15 results and reported revenues of $862 million, a rise of 34% YoY (year-over-year). Revenues for 2015 also rose 35% YoY to $3.0 billion.
Amazon’s 4Q15 results drove a hostile market reaction and dragged shares down by 14%, despite the fact that it achieved its highest quarterly growth ever.
