Category Archives: Big Tech

As it chases the hottest Wall Street phenomena of embracing value stocks against tech, one $16 billion exchange-traded fund is getting a major revamp this week.

As per Wells Fargo WFC , theiSharesMSCI USA Momentum Factor ETF (MTUM) MTUM ofBlackRock BLK will witness a whopping 68% of its assets shift, in order to retain the market's best performers over the last year.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MAY 11: People visit the Charging Bull statue in Wall Street on May 11, 2021 in ... [+] New York City. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced pandemic restrictions to be lifted on May 19. (Photo by Noam Galai/Getty Images)

Stocks markets across the globe have been very volatile and unpredictable since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic making it necessary for investors and funds to question their conventional strategies.

During the month of April, inflation increased at a faster pace and the growth of new jobs was slow. Early jobs data for the month of May also indicates sluggish hiring. The jobs number expected for May is 488,000. Although this would be a good figure in normal circumstances,itis only half of what the authorities had targeted.

However, with the implementation of a successful vaccination campaign, the United Statesis on theright track to recovery. According to theWorldometerswebsite, there have been 33,947,189 cases and 605,208 deaths as of May 26. According to the CDC, approximately 39.5% of the American population has been fully vaccinated, and 49.5% have received at least one dose.Considering this recovery, funds are also readjusting their portfolios to capitalize on changing market dynamics.

MTUM belongs to a category of ETFs known as smart-beta funds witha $1.4 trillion marketwhich chooses securities based on sound quantifiable research. The ETF rates stocks based on their six-month and one-year performanceandrebalances every 6 months.As a result, it has held on to thepoorly performing technology mega-caps far longer than its peers.

With companies like Netflix NFLX and Apple AAPL struggling this year, the ETF is on track to trail the larger U.S. economy for the third quarter in a row, which will be itsworst streak since its introduction in 2013. Value stocks, on the other hand, haveperformed exceptionally well since November last year.The fund's adjustment, expected on Thursday, would increase the weightage of financial shares from nearly 2% to a third of its portfolio. Likewise, from a high of 40%, its exposure to Big Tech would drop to 17%.This would help the fund to regainits flair,assuming the approach remains effective.MTUM isn't the only onemaking a switch.

At the end of May, iShares' 5 major factor ETFs momentum, valuation, quality, size, and minimum volatility will all rebalance.It is widely anticipated, the sector-neutral value ETF may also observesome major shifts.

Oneof the most popular quant strategies of the decade is set to undergo a major overhaul, threatening to create new uncertainties in a financial market still reeling from the turbulence inBigTech stocks.Only time will tell whether the decision made byBlackRockexperts to decrease exposure to Big Tech is correct, at a time when Big Tech, more recently, is performing much better and pushing theNasdaq NDAQ up.

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Big Tech Is About To See A Massive Outflow - Where Will This Money Go? - Forbes

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Big tech has been downright disappointing this year for investors used to big gains from their stocks. They might also be worth buying right now. The reason: They offer strong growth prospects at reasonable prices.

The FAANGM group Facebook (FB), Apple (AAPL), Amazon.com (AMZN), Netflix (NFLX), Alphabet (GOOGL), and Microsoft (MSFT) isnt very expensive right now. The median forward earnings multiple is just under 30 times, according to FactSet data, above the S&P 500s average multiple of 21.5, but the group has traded at a far higher premium to the S&P 500 in the past. Considering the pace at which AAPL/AMZN/NFLX/GOOGL and MSFT are growing earnings and the long-term prospects for these companies, valuations are reasonable, writes Tom Essaye, founder of Sevens Report Research. These names could be considered GARP, which stands for Growth At Reasonable Price, says Essaye, who favors these stocks over the less profitable, smaller capitalization names.

Reasonable valuations mean earnings growth can take the older tech names higher. Expected earnings growth for 2022 in the FAANGM group, which the market will be pricing in by the end of the year, can provide at least acceptable returns. Facebooks earnings, for example, are expected to grow 17%, while Amazons are expected at 30%. That compares to just 12% for the S&P 500.

Does that mean the value rally will fizzle out? No, just that investors who dont want to put all their eggs in one basket can find opportunity in big tech. Value stocks, which dont have the same secular growth prospects but are sensitive to changes in the economy, have had a strong run. The Vanguard S&P 500 Value Index Fund ETF (VOOV) has outpaced the broader index by about 8 percentage points since the end of September, the start of a larger rally in economically-sensitive assets. As the economy keeps rebounding, value stocks could continue their run, but FAANGM stocks could act as protection against that outcome. And even if value keeps outperforming, FAANGM could still keep pace, Essaye notes.

And that should be good enough.

Write to Jacob Sonenshine at jacob.sonenshine@barrons.com

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Apple and the Rest of the Big Tech Stocks Might Be Ready to Rally. Here's Why. - Barron's

Silicon Valley giants such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube have appointed themselves the arbiters of truth on controversial matters that warrant wide debate. Recent events related to the COVID-19 pandemic and its origins ought to be enough to revoke Big Techs authority to limit free speech under the guise of combating disinformation.

In a May 2020 interview with National Geographic, Americas top pandemic expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, seemed pretty sure of the origins of COVID-19.

Faucis statement was largely taken as gospel, and the opinion of a single individual (albeit a respected expert) was adopted as conventional wisdom. Fauci: Evidence says coronavirus could not have been artificially or deliberately manipulated in lab, read an ABC News headline. A CNN headline screamed: Anthony Fauci just crushed Donald Trumps theory on the origins of the coronavirus.

Trump had said hed seen evidence that the virus came from a lab in China but that he couldnt provide further information. Americas intelligence services contradicted Trumps assertion. The intelligence community also concurs with the wide scientific consensus that the COVID-19 virus was not manmade or genetically modified, read a statement from the office of the director of national intelligence.

In a credibility contest between the establishment and a president known for embellishment and a less-than-rigorous treatment of information, it was a no-brainer. Case closed. Even though no actual proof had emerged from either side, gatekeepers to public debate indulged a classic logical fallacy of appeal to authority, swallowing the opinions of known authorities rather than demanding evidence.

Anyone who remained skeptical about the mainstream theory of COVID-19s origins was labeled a conspiracy theorist, crackpot or Trump cultist. And while mainstream media conveyed what had quickly become conventional wisdom regarding the origins of the virus, the Big Tech companies running social media outlets either removed or tagged with disclaimers content that went against the consensus, labeling it disinformation or fake news.

Fast-forward a year to May 2021. Intelligence on sick staff at Wuhan lab fuels debate on COVID-19 origin, read the headline of a May 23 Wall Street Journal story, citing a previously undisclosed U.S. intelligence report that could add weight to growing calls for a fuller probe of whether the COVID-19 virus may have escaped from the laboratory. Apparently, three researchers at the Wuhan Institute of Virology were admitted to a hospital in November 2019 with COVID-like symptoms.

Fauci has since moderated his views on the origins of the virus at a fact-checking festival, of all places. Speaking at a Poynter Institute event, Fauci was asked whether he still believes the virus is a natural phenomenon.

No actually, Fauci said. I am not convinced about that. I think we should continue to investigate what went on in China until we continue to find out to the best of our ability what happened.

Hey, does this mean that the worker bees policing free speech for the tech giants are going to be reversing course and labeling the natural occurrence theory as suspicious while validating the previously censored views suggesting that COVID-19 emerged from a lab? Are they going to censor links to Faucis words as theyve been doing with those endorsing the laboratory theory?

Maybe if the information gatekeepers were more insistent on rigorous debate and less interested in acting as censors protecting people from disinformation, everyone would have been prompted to ask more questions, which would have led to more answers, which would have led to a better evidence-based understanding of the pandemic instead of waiting for information to be spoon-fed. That didnt happen, because the gatekeepers simply shut down aspects of the debate they didnt like.

They do the same thing with other debatable issues, accusing those who question the experts in other areas climate science, for example of spreading disinformation. Its hard not to think that disinformation has become little more than a label to discredit views that dont fit with whatever narrative the establishment wants to peddle to the masses.

Social media was supposed to be a digital public square. These companies want to be regarded as private entities while acting like public utilities that have close proximity to power and its benefits and privileges including the ability to dictate policy. In reality, theyre self-serving, agenda-pushing, anti-democratic enemies of open debate.

Rachel Marsden is a columnist, political strategist.

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Fauci's about-face is a lesson on Big Tech overreach - Rocky Mount Telegram

Following a crackdown by tech giants on QAnon, new research released this week says that "chatter" related to the far-right conspiracy theory-fueled movement has decreased significantly. But analysts say that while QAnon-related catchphrases may be slowly disappearing from mainstream social media platforms, ardent followers of Q are finding ways to evade detection and discovering new rabbit holes to spread their

QAnon is a baseless far-right conspiracy theory that claims former President Donald Trump is secretly fighting a "deep state" cabal of satanic pedophiles and cannibals. The movement also claims that "Q," the shadowy figure at the center of it, has top-level access to confidential information, much of which paints a positive picture of Trump.

The movement helped perpetuate voter-fraud claims regarding the 2020 presidential election. And more recently, numerous participants in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot said their actions were inspired and influenced by their belief in Q.

A study published this week by the Atlantic Council's Digital Forensic Research Lab analyzed more than 40 million instances where QAnon keywords appeared on social media. These included closer looks at the number of times 13 phrases appeared, including the rallying cry "WWG1WGA," (an acronym for "where we go one, we go all") "the storm," "great awakening," and "trust the plan."

Jared Holt and Max Rizzuto, who are both researchers at the think tank, found that the number of times QAnon catchphrases were mentioned surged at several points during the Black Lives Matter protests, before the 2020 presidential election, and before the Capitol attack. But mentions of these Q-catchphrases nosedived when tech stepped in with content moderating measures and has dulled to what they call a "low murmur" after mass bans of some 70,000 QAnon-related Twitter accounts and a crackdown on Facebook groups affiliated to the movement.

But researchers cautioned that a dip in chatter does not mean that the QAnon movement has not vanished altogether. They also noted that the anonymous "Q" account instructed followers last year to "deploy camouflage" and to purposefully avoid mentioning the account to evade social media clampdowns.

Jason Blazakis, a senior research fellow at the Soufan Center and professor at the Middlebury Institute, told Insider QAnon believers remain a threat to international peace and stability.

He theorized that this dip in chatter means that there may be a "combination" of things happening. Firstly, that some QAnon followers could be abandoning the movement because Q's predictions have been proven to be bogus too many times. Secondly, the movement's remaining believers may be doing one of two things: forgoing old hashtags and using other modes to communicate with each other, or simply moving to fringe platforms and finding lesser-known rabbit holes online to spread their conspiracy theories.

"I, for one, remain worried about QAnon followers. Those who still believe are the most rabid fomenters of dangerous conspiracy theories. And, if they are moving to other platforms and using coded language in ways that have yet to be identified, that presents a challenge for those who are responsible for detecting problematic behavior in the online and offline space," Blazakis told Insider.

Earlier this month, Mashable reported that followers were substituting words and incorporating fresh code phrases in their posts to dodge social media tracking. This could be done by calling QAnon "cue anon," or referring to the mysterious Q by the number "17," because Q is the 17th letter of the alphabet. The AP reported in October last year that innocuous slogans like "Save the Children" were also co-opted and used to talk about Q without mentioning the alphabet.

Holt and Rizzuto added that some followers have created a "neo-QAnon" instead, a cluster of movements that promote the same claims, without the "hallmark linguistic stylings" of the original QAnon movement. Speaking to Forbes, Holt posited as well that new QAnon communities could have formed to talk about fresh topics.

"A lot of QAnon communities we're aware of have pivoted on to other topics, like vaccine conspiracies and claims about the Biden Administration," Holt told Forbes.

"In that way, they're plugging into broader misinformation and disinformation ecosystems online, which tend to reach more people," he added.

Blazakis added that terrorist groups have long adapted to the tactics used by law enforcement, and cautioned that law enforcement and intelligence agencies must adapt to possible evolutions in the way QAnon believers communicate. How this can be done, Blazakis said, is by having law enforcement agencies partner with tech experts who track QAnon.

"Too many people from all over the globe remain intrigued by the core narrative of QAnon, that there is some Satan-worshipping secret cabal of global elites who are engaged in pedophilia," he said, adding that he does not believe we have seen the last of QAnon-inspired violence.

"There very well could be QAnon spin-offs that gain the approval of a large number of followers, but that doesn't render QAnon irrelevant," he said. "It may just have new contenders that vie for the attention of conspiracy theorists."

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Big Tech cracked down on QAnon but its followers are finding online rabbit holes to spread conspiracies - Business Insider

After many years during which the most familiar technology companies pulled the entire stock market up with them, 2021 is turning out to be a slow one for big tech.

Heres how the 11 sectors of the S&P 500 have performed this year through May 20 (with dividends reinvested):

Information technology has been this years second-weakest performer, with consumer discretionary taking the bottom spot. (That sector includes Amazon.com Inc. AMZN, +0.19% ) That follows a stellar 44% return during the pandemic year of 2020. You can also see that IT has been the markets long-term leader.

A rapidly growing economy with higher inflation hits high P/E growth stocks the most, especially in the short term, according to Jordan Kahn, chief investment officer of ACM Funds in Los Angeles.

For traders and short-term investors, youve been warned. But for long-term investors, it may be difficult for some of the largest tech companies to continue growing quickly enough to justify their high price-to-earnings valuations, according to a data study by Vincent Deluard, head of global macro strategy at investment firm StoneX, which was covered by Mark Hulbert.

Related tech stock coverage:

Google holding company Alphabet Inc. has had a good run this year, with its Class A shares GOOGL, +0.74% up 32% and its class C shares GOOG, +1.02% up 35% through May 20. Jeff Reeves dives into the companys financial performance and valuation, and considers whether it is a good time for investors to buy.

Another tech giant: Amazon is a cheap stock for long-term investors. These numbers tell you why.

As the economy reopens, ride-sharing is heating up again. Michael Brush compares Uber Technologies Inc. UBER, +1.31% and Lyft Inc. LYFT, +4.09% as financial performers and as investments.

Read on: Most Uber and Lyft trips will have to transition to electric vehicles in this decade, California declares

Bitcoin BTCUSD, +2.42% was down 38% through May 20 to $40,320 from its intraday high of $65,520 on April 14. But it was still up 37% for 2021 and up more than fourfold from a year earlier.

Mark DeCambre rounds up the newest events surrounding virtual currencies, including the Chinese governments crackdown plans.

Heres his look at the technical aspects of bitcoins decline.

William Watts considers how Chinas government action against cryptocurrencies might backfire.

Jaimy Lee interviews Rick Bright, a virologist and immunologist who has worked for four presidents, about COVID-19 infections of people who had already been vaccinated, and about changes that need to be made before the next pandemic.

As COVID-19 restrictions are lifted, people are traveling again and shopping. Tonya Garcia looks at the retail landscape, including sales at Macys Inc. and Walmart Inc., and highlights encouraging trends.

Continuing her Help Me Retire series, Alessandra Malito has advice for a 65-year-old woman emerging from bankruptcy who has nothing saved.

Paul Brandus looks deep into the results of a survey that indicates Americans fear outliving their money and related data about a lack of preparedness for life after careers end.

Paul Merriman recommends a simple strategy to increase your investment portfolios diversification and wind up with a much better long-term result, based on decades of performance.

More on retirement investing: Jack Bogles ghost warns about 401(k)s.

Jeff Opdyke provides detailed information about what is required to obtain visa and work permits in various countries, and also looks into various financial details. Here are his recommended four best places to live and work abroad.

Want more from MarketWatch? Sign up for this andother newsletters, and get the latest news, personal finance and investing advice.

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Weekend reads: What exactly is going on with big tech stocks? - MarketWatch

May 26, 2021Federal Communications Commissioner Brendan Carr said Tuesday that hes concerned about the power of big tech to being able to remove applications like controversial chat website Parler.

The app, which is used by supporters of former President Donald Trump but has fostered an environment of hate-speech, was removed from the Apple and Google app stores in light of the Capitol riot of January 6. The platforms gave the app time to deal with its policies on those matters.

Carr said at a virtual event hosted by The Heritage Foundation that when technology companies have the power to pick and choose what to remove, it creates inherent biases and promotes an echo chamber, where Americans only hear one side of matter. He said there must be a push to promote more diverse opinions.

He noted that the big technology companies often point to their algorithms when called to account for inconsistent content moderation and account suspension. Facebook, for example, has said it removes thousands of groups and accounts, which often promote violence, from its platform regularly.

Carr noted the example of a New York Post article written about Hunter Bidens dealings with Ukraine, the merits of which were dismissed and the story allegedly suppressed by big tech platforms.

Big tech companies have been given too much power, Carr said.

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FCC Commissioner Carr Says Big Tech Has Too Much Power To Determine What Information Is Seen - BroadbandBreakfast.com

Theres plenty of wrangling in Congress right now regarding potential changes to Americas corporate tax code. The corporate tax rate currently stands at 21%. However, Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., prefers a 25% rate, while President Joe Biden is aiming for 28%. Regardless of the rate, though, Congress must still address an overlooked problem: Plenty of larger U.S. multinational corporations are continuing to avoid paying their fair share of taxes.

Corporate tax reform is obviously a thorny issue. But several of Americas largest tech companies just came out in favor of Bidens suggested 28% rate. Through a partnership with the brand-new Chamber of Progress, Amazon, Google, and Facebook have jointly offered support for Bidens proposal. Its a nice gesture on their part, but rather hollowsince theyll hardly be affected by any tax increase.

Last year, the Coalition for a Prosperous America published a report showing U.S. multinational corporations paid an average of only 8.7% in corporate taxes in 2019far less than the current 21% rate. Large tech companies remain some of the prime beneficiaries of this tax avoidance since they repeatedly shift much of their profits to Bermuda and other tax haven nations.

Amazon is a perfect example. The e-commerce giant paid zero state or federal taxes in 2018 despite earning more than $11 billion in profits. While enjoying massive revenues, Amazon simply took advantage of current tax loopholesand assigned much of its profit to low-tax countries outside of the U.S.

When companies like Amazon shift profit abroad, they shrink the available U.S. tax base. And so its somewhat disingenuous for them to support the 28% Biden tax proposal because it will hardly affect their bottom line. Essentially, if Congress votes to raise Americas corporate tax rate by 7% but doesnt simultaneously address tax avoidance, multinational corporations would likely face only a small increase. However, domestic companies would have to carry the full amount.

Gaming the system like this offers a competitive advantage. Amazon paid a mere 4.3% average tax rate over the last three years while competing with thousands of brick-and-mortar retailers across the country. If the U.S. corporate tax rate climbs to 28%, these Main Street businesses will bear an outsized portion of the increasenot Amazon.

Concerns about such tax disparities arent new, though. The Coalition for a Prosperous America estimates that multinationals avoided paying $97.8 billion in corporate taxes in 2019. In response, the Biden administration has even offered some potential solutions through its Made in America tax plan. However, the complexity of these proposals could make them unwieldy and hard to sell in Congress.

Whats needed is simplicity and equity. Since Bidens Build Back Better plan aims to strengthen domestic U.S. manufacturing, its time to implement a system that fully taxes all multinational companies. The logical answer is to adopt a system of sales factor apportionment in order to impose taxes specifically on the location of a companys final sale. That means if a company generates $1 billion of profit on its U.S. sales, it should pay U.S. corporate taxes on that $1 billion. No more convoluted profit calculationsor claiming residence in an obscure, offshore locationin order to skirt U.S. tax obligations.

Americas large tech companies are among the multinationals that keep dodging a full tax load. Its somewhat meaningless, then, that they appear to be supportive of a tax hike. In reality, their main goal is to prevent anything that would include more of their profits in the U.S. tax base.

The American people already recognize that its unfair for multinational firms to sell products in the U.S. market but pay little or no federal taxes. That includes the tech firms that consistently generate massive profits from U.S. consumers. Its time to shift to an SFA system that closes loopholes and ensures that all companies pay their fair share of taxes.

David Morse is tax policy director at the Coalition for a Prosperous America Education Fund. Follow him on Twitter @CentristinIdaho. He wrote this for InsideSources.com.

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Morse: Don't be fooled by Big Tech's apparent support of higher corporate taxes - Gazettextra

WASHINGTONLina Khan, a progressive champion nominated by President Biden for a key enforcement post, wants to transform antitrust policy into a bulwark against corporate power by blocking more mergers, attacking monopolistic practices and potentially breaking up some of Americas largest companies.

Ms. Khan, 32 years old, is awaiting Senate confirmation for a Democratic seat on the five-member Federal Trade Commission after she was cleared by the Senate Commerce Committee. She has risen to prominenceand gained bipartisan supportas Democrats and Republicans alike have said lax antitrust enforcement, especially in the tech sector, has allowed dominant firms to hobble rivals and stifle competition.

Her targets have included not just Big Tech but also Big Chocolate and others. She has argued for hawkish positions that would overhaul legal doctrine and go well beyond the approach of recent antitrust enforcers. While her most ardent supporters believe such changes are long overdue, her views have prompted a debate on whether her approach is realistic and potentially so sweeping that it could prove jarring to the economy.

Stepped-up antitrust enforcement is one thing, said Howard University law professor Andrew Gavil, who was a top FTC staffer the last time Democrats controlled the commission. Changing the standards is a different matter, he said.

Mr. Gavil, who favors more enforcement, said Ms. Khan will have to consider how to translate her views into something that can be applied in practice. Thats more challenging than simply being a critic on the outside, he said.

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Big Tech Adversary Poised to Take Assertive FTC Antitrust Role - The Wall Street Journal

Rising concerns about higher inflation and interest rates are on investors' minds lately, and many are wondering howthiswill affect some of thebiggest technology stocksgoing forward. These companies have been huge winners over the years and benefited greatly from a pandemic-fueled boost in 2020, so investors could very well be taking some profits off the table.

There are some smaller, high-qualitybusinesses, however, that have been beaten down over the past few months for various reasons, but still have solid long-term outlooks. Here are threegrowth stocksthat are on sale right now and are worth taking a look at.

Image source: Getty Images.

With astock price that has fallen 31% since March 1, Etsy(NASDAQ:ETSY), the leading online marketplace for handcrafted and special goods, should be on every investor's watch list.

Thecompany's 4.7 million active sellers and 90.7 million active buyers accounted for $3.1billion of gross merchandise sales in the most recent quarter, an increase of 132% from the prior-year period. Revenue (up 142%) and net income (up 1,048%) have also increased significantly, demonstrating just how valuable the e-commerce platform is.

Management's comments regarding a deceleration of growththisquarter, on the backs of a record-breaking 2020,certainly pressured the stock. A slowdown is to be expected after last year, but Etsy will continue riding the secular shift to online shopping for many years to come.

Etsy empowers and supports local entrepreneurs looking to showcase their products, and it provides consumers access to goods no one else sells. In a 2020 survey, 88%of Etsy buyers agreed that the site had items they can't find anywhere else.

Thebusinesscurrentlyoperatesin the U.S., U.K., Canada, Germany, Australia, France, and India, and its sellersoffereverything from home furnishings and jewelry to craft supplies and beauty products. There is still a massive untapped market opportunity in front of Etsy, supporting growth for a long time.

Peloton Interactive(NASDAQ:PTON) has become somewhat of a household name, but its stock, which has dropped 40% since mid-January, hasfallen out of favorwith Wall Street.

The connected fitness company's business surged during the pandemic (sales soared more than 100% in each of the past four quarters) as people stuck at home searched for ways to work out. But persistent supply chain issues leading to long wait times and delayed deliveries have resulted in irritated consumers.

Further adding to the list of problems is the recent recallof its Tread+ and Tread treadmills. This was after Peloton initially resisted a warning by the Consumer Product Safety Commission that cited numerous injuries and one child death. Not a good public relations showing.

But let's face it. Customers don't just use Peloton's equipment and digital app. They rave about them. The company has a cult-like following primarily due to its easy-to-use software and social connectivity. Peloton makes working out fun, while adding a powerful interactive element to the mix.

Memberchurnin Q3 was an impressive 0.31%, andthe average number of monthly workouts (a measure of engagement) was 26 in the quarter, a record for the company.

Peloton's flagship product, the Peloton bike, is back to pre-pandemicdelivery wait times. The company has already released asoftwareupdatefor its recalled treadmills and is working on a hardware fix to enhance safety. This should ease any shareholder anxiety.

Peloton still has the potential to be a global-scale fitness company. These recent stumbles are just an opportunity to fix mistakes and bolster its competitive positioning.

The streaming wars are in full swing, and no company sits more perfectly in the middle of it all than Roku(NASDAQ:ROKU). The streaming player and platformbusinesscontinues to register solid gains, with revenue and gross profit up 79% and 132%, respectively, in the most recent quarter. Thecompanynow has 53.6millionactive accounts that watched 18.3 billion hours of content in the three-month period.

The stock price has diverged fromthese strong fundamentals. Since Feb. 16, Roku is down 30%, which could be a result of the gradual reopening of the economy that will leave consumers spending less time at home. This is certainly warranted, but management is expecting another blowout quarter coming up, a sign that momentum hasn't slowed yet.

What separates Roku from the streaming service companies you're probably more familiar with is that it actually creates the platform for these content companies to reach viewers, while at the same time providing an avenue for corporations to advertise their products and services on a streaming ecosystem.

Roku is quite literally building the TV operating system of the future. Its platform segment, which is where advertising and subscription revenue is accounted for, sports a rapidly expanding gross margin of nearly 67%.Thisbusinessis on its way to producing profits at scale.

Over time, as more people stop paying for traditional cable-TV subscriptions and move to streaming, Roku stands to benefit immensely. It isestimated that 27% of U.S. households will cut the cord in 2021, providing a powerful and durable tailwind for Roku.

This article represents the opinion of the writer, who may disagree with the official recommendation position of a Motley Fool premium advisory service. Were motley! Questioning an investing thesis -- even one of our own -- helps us all think critically about investing and make decisions that help us become smarter, happier, and richer.

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Big Tech Tumbles, But These 3 Growth Stocks Are On Sale Now - Motley Fool

The world's largest game streaming service Twitch said on Wednesday that players will be able to add a transgender label to their videos - a move the company said would aid inclusion among its 30 million daily gamers.

Twitch, which lets users broadcast themselves playing video games, introduced "transgender", "bisexual", "Black," and "disabled" among more than 350 new tags - labels that users can add to their videos.

"This has been one of the most popular requests we've heard, and the simple truth is that we should have done this sooner," Amazon-owned Twitch said in a blog last week.

It then broadcast the news to users on Wednesday.

Tech firms have come under pressure to make their products more inclusive of trans people, with Instagram and LinkedIn allowing users to add their pronouns to profiles, amid fierce debate over what it means to be male or female.

A raft of US states want to bar young, trans Americans from playing school sports or getting medical help, with a record 18 "anti-LGBTQ" state bills signed into law this year, according to advocacy group Human Rights Campaign.

"Adding that trans tag it makes it very, very easy for us to find each other and to connect with each other," Casey, who streams under the username CaseyExplosion and did not want to give her full name, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

"That's something that is vital because for a lot of gaming spaces, if you're LGBT, there's a sort of unspoken, 'Don't ask, don't tell'."

The existing 'LGBTQIA' tag was not specific enough to help trans people easily connect, particularly as it was used by many people who considered themselves 'allies' of the community, said Laura Dale, who streams herself playing Pokemon and Zelda games as LauraKBuzz.

"LGBT is a pretty broad range of identities," she said.

Twitch says about 70 percent of its users are aged 13 to 34. They collectively watch 68 million to 73 million hours of game play each day, according to unofficial data site Twitch Tracker.

Thomson Reuters 2021

Originally posted here:

Twitch Adds 'Transgender' Tag as Big Tech Vies to Be Inclusive - Gadgets 360