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Month: August 2020

Roku And Pinterest: Ad-Tech Earnings Review

Posted on August 25, 2020June 30, 2026 by io-fund
Roku And Pinterest: Ad-Tech Earnings Review

This article was originally published on Forbes on Aug 20, 2020,11:32pm EDTForbes on Aug 20, 2020,11:32pm EDT

On August 5th, Roku announced very strong Q2 results led by outstanding account growth. Total revenue grew 42% YoY to $356 million, representing a beat of 7% above consensus estimates. This was by far the strongest Q2 sales growth across ad-tech as Roku’s competitors each posted significant revenue growth decelerations.

This was a challenging quarter for the industry, as digital advertising spend is expected to decline 5% YoY. Roku outpaced its competitors by growing monetized video ad impressions 50% and expanding first time ad clients 40%. From H1 2019 to H1 2020, Roku’s retention rate among advertisers that spent $1 million or more in H1 2019 was a resilient 92%. 

Chart showing Roku total revenue grew 42% YoY

Deutsche Bank is estimating that US ad spend for connected TVs will double over the next few years from the current $8B spent annually. Roku is ideally positioned to be the main beneficiary of this trend as growth in the number of active accounts and streaming hours reinforce Roku’s role as an essential distribution partner for advertisers who want to scale rapidly. Further, Roku is depending on the hardware portion of its business less than ever, as consumer hardware has shrunk from 55% of Roku’s revenue at its IPO to less than 30% in Q2. 

Despite posting the highest growth in the industry, Roku trades at the most attractive valuation in comparison to its peers. The Trade Desk, Snap Inc., and Pinterest have each seen their multiples expand 15%+ over the last year & trade at a premium to Roku. Their growth rates have declined significantly over the same time frame. 

Chart showing Snap, Pinterest, and The Trade Desk Quarterly YoY Growth

The Trade Desk, in particular, now trades at a 70% higher premium than it did a year ago while its growth rate has dropped from 38% to -12.9%. In comparison, Roku’s multiple has contracted from 12.8x to 11.4x despite posting consistent 40-55% growth. Roku is in an ideal position to continue to deliver sustained 30%+ growth as it has proven to be the most resilient ad-tech stock and will capitalize on growing ad spend for connected TVs. 

Chart: EV/NTM Revenue Multiples

Pinterest reported better than expected Q2 results, beating consensus estimates by 9% on revenue and 7% on global monthly active users (MAUs). Most impressive was its international revenue growth, as the $42m number they announced came in 46% above estimates. Pinterest also reported 49% international MAU growth, blowing past estimates by 9%. 

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Pinterest saw broad based user growth in the US and international regions, so the key remains increasing its average revenue per user (ARPU), which dropped 21% globally to $0.70. In the US, the company’s ARPU was $2.50 (-11% YoY) while international ARPU was just $0.14. In comparison, Facebook’s global ARPU stands at $8.52. This represents a great opportunity for Pinterest to accelerate its growth, particularly by increasing monetization per-user internationally. Monetization for international regions should improve over time as the company expands its sales presence in under-capitalized markets. 

Graph: International MAUs and ARPU of Pinterest

Credit Suisse estimates Pinterest will report $0.23 International ARPU in Q4, representing a 64% improvement in international monetization from Q2. This would be the best quarter of international ARPU the company has ever reported, which coincides with estimates calling for a record quarter of international revenue. 

Graph: Pinterest International Revenue

Pinterest saw US revenue fall 3% YoY in Q2, but management guided for 35% growth in Q3 and noted that revenue in July accelerated 50% YoY. With the expected rebound from a weak Q2 in the US, Pinterest can reaccelerate its growth to 40%+ by capitalizing on its international monetization opportunity. Management addressed its plan for this opportunity in the conference call, clarifying that that they are investing in those markets by hiring aggressively and building out their sales team. If the company can execute on these initiatives to drive higher international ARPU, as analysts are forecasting, shares of Pinterest will benefit from the upcoming growth.     

Clearly, ad-tech companies make solid investments especially for their tendency to have strong bottom line growth. This particular subsector usually has a clear path to profitability while other tech verticals must spend heavily on R&D. However, guiding for 30%+ revenue growth following single to double-digit negative growth carries risk as covid-19 has proven to drive unpredictable ad spend this year. Pinterest and The Trade Desk have set a high bar for themselves based off July results with this forward guidance.  

As I covered previously, Apple’s changes to IDFA will likely put pressure on The Trade Desk as a third-party ad exchange without a first-party relationship. Pinterest also alluded to the decreased ability to measure conversions, yet thanks to their first-party relationship, this may be surmountable through their own measurement tools. These effects will begin to show up in Q4 after the release of iOS 14 in September.

Please note: The I/O Fund conducts research and draws conclusions for the Fund’s positions. We then share that information with our readers. This is not a guarantee of a stock’s performance. Please consult your personal financial advisor before buying any stock in the companies mentioned in this analysis.

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Market Report: August 23rd, 2020

Posted on August 22, 2020June 30, 2026 by io-fund

In this report we analyze: Zoom, Slack, Marvell, Teladoc, Bitcoin and Chainlink

Please note the glossary of terms and techniques here and herehere and here

You can access our portfolio here. You can also track in real time our buys/sells/position updates in the forum. If you want to track us in real time, we recommend that you set up alerts to these 3 chat rooms, which can be done by clicking the link in the top corner of each chat room called, “subscribe for new topics.”  here. You can also track in real time our buys/sells/position updates in the forum. If you want to track us in real time, we recommend that you set up alerts to these 3 chat rooms, which can be done by clicking the link in the top corner of each chat room called, “subscribe for new topics.”  

In this week’s report, we look at the number of buys we’ve made over the recent correction. Almost all of the positions we bought corrected in a symmetrical, 3-wave pattern, which we used to our advantage.

We also take a look at our two cryptocurrency plays – Bitcoin and Chainlink. From a long term perspective, both are setting up for extended uptrends. However, in the short to intermediate-term basis, there could be some volatility ahead. We outline the path we are taking with both.

Zoom (ZM)

On August 10th, as it appeared to be setting up for a pullback, we laid out two potential paths that Zoom could take. The red path assumed that the large degree 3rd wave had topped. This was setting up for a relatively deep pullback. The green path assumed that we were only going to see a minor pullback and that the large degree 3rd wave had more room to run.

Based on where Zoom bottomed, and how it broke out to new highs, it appears that the probabilities have shifted towards the green path. The below chart outlines this path.

We will want to see Zoom’s recent breakout zone between $280-$285 hold. So far, it has closed 2 days above this zone and it did so on heavy volume, which is an encouraging sign. The Accumulation/Distribution line (A/D line) is also encouraging. It’s suggesting that smart money was buying into the correction as it continues to make new highs with the price.

By focusing on the green count in the above chart, we can get an idea of why it is likely this will be the path Zoom will take going forward.

Since bottoming in April, ZM appears to be tracing an ending diagonal pattern. This is a series of 5 waves that tracks a trend channel (in gray). That would make the recent downtrend the 4th wave, and setting us up for the final 5th wave in this move. The evidence that the 4th wave in this pattern is over is:

  • Note how correction unfolded in three legs (blue a,b,c). The length of the first leg (blue a), fell 15.6%. The length of the 3rd leg (blue c), fell 16.2%. We commonly see corrections unfold in a symmetrical fashion, where the length of the 3rd leg down (C) is within a few percentages away from the length of the first leg down (A).
  • The correction tagged a common retrace level for 4th wave corrections, which for Zoom is around $235.
  • The correction found support on the outer regions of the trend channel.
  • The price has made new highs.

This would put us in the final 5th wave, which is targeting the upper region of the trend channel. There is still a chance that Zoom could fail this breakout and make a lower low; however, the probabilities are not in favor of this scenario as of now. We have guided five successful entries with Zoom so far. We believe that when this move completes, we will have an opportunity for the 6th.

Slack (WORK)

Slack is a position we recently added to, as well. Like Zoom, note the three leg correction (blue A,B,C). Though it’s not perfect symmetry, the length of the C wave came within 2% of the length of the A wave.

The price found strong support on the 38.2% retrace level of the 1st wave from the March low. This was confirmed by the positive divergence we saw in the CCI.

Because of these signs, we added to our WORK position.

The confirmation we have received so far is in the MACD crossing over, for one. The second confirmation comes from classic technical analysis in the image below.

Slack has traced a classic continuation pattern known as a pennant. The price has zig-zagged within this pattern on decreasing volume, then broke out, followed by a retest of the breakout zone.

The only concern here is the lack of volume confirming the breakout. This isn’t as crucial as some might think. It’s always a great confirmation, but price can increase simply by sellers drying up. We will want to see the price hold above the breakout zone, and move higher, or else the correction may not be over.

Marvell (MRVL)

So far, Marvell has played out exactly as we planned from last week’s analysis. It appears to be in a 4th wave correction, which we typically see bottom at or between 2 specific regions. For MRVL, these regions are $34 and $31 regions.

Within this region, you’ll notice symmetry at work again. The length of the first leg down (blue a) is -13%. Then, the length of the 3rd leg down (blue b) is -14%. This, coupled with two buy signals that formed in the internals, had us add to our current position in MRVL.

We are expecting a bounce from current levels. We will want to see this bounce unfold in a 5 wave pattern on a smaller timeframe chart, like the 30 minute or hourly chart. If this does not happen, and instead gives way to another leg lower, we will happily add again to this position as long-term investors.

Teladoc (TDOC)

Teladoc had a sharp drawdown after announcing the acquisition of LVGO. Based on the information given to us in the structure of the drawdown, we identified two support regions in prior reports, the first of which is around the $174-$173 region. It seemed probable that we would see the price hit this level. However, in technical analysis, you have to be prepared to change your thesis in real time if evidence begins to suggest otherwise.

This, we believe, is what happened with Teladoc last week. If Teladoc was to hit the $174 region, it would have to do so in a C-wave. That would make the current uptrend the B wave. What we know about B waves is that they unfold into 3 wave patterns, symmetrical fashions. This, as of now, is not what we are seeing.

Instead, what we have in blue is a 5 wave pattern pointing up. If this is the case, we have just completed the first wave of 5 to new highs. As long as the 2nd wave holds the $197 region, I will look to add as TDOC begins a new leg higher.

If $197 breaks, the probabilities shift that we may have another leg lower before finding a bottom. This is why I always start small when building a position. If this is the case, we will continue to add in tranches as we approach below support levels.

Bitcoin (BTCUSD)

In June, we announced that we are shifting our strategy with Bitcoin from a more active approach to buy and hold. The reasons for this shift was, for one, Bitcoin trades 24/7, which makes executing on identified setups quite challenging. We also believe in the long-term story to an extent that we are OK with the volatility.

Furthermore, from the perspective of technical analysis, the below chart is a rare gem that also bolsters our decision to buy and hold the asset.

This chart is the percentage growth of Bitcoin from its inception. Using classic technical analysis, there are two continuation patterns highlighted in blue. These are periods of consolidation that follow strong uptrends, and precede the next leg in the trend. The bigger the pattern, the more meaningful it is, and both of these patterns took years to play out.

Where we are today is in the breakout of the second, multi-year continuation pattern, also known as a pennant. The weekly MACD supports this move with a classic coiling pattern following by a steep uptrend. This is the kind of long-term pattern that I search for.

In short, the technicals are aligned with the fundamentals. We will continue to seek out entries with stops for our members who are looking for a position and may not already have one.

Chainlink (LINKUSD)

Chainlink recently became the 5th largest crypto currency in terms of market cap, taking over Bitcoin Cash. Since we covered the coin in August, editorially, LINK is up over 500%. After navigating 2 entries below $1.80, we stopped out of both trades for greater than 40% gains each time. On this last entry, we began a buy and hold position at $4.

Chainlink is not just another alt coin. Instead, it fulfills a unique and needed role within the blockchain stack regarding smart contracts. We encourage you to read Beth’s analysis on it here.

Technically, Chainlink’s price structure is quite complex. It is trending up; however, with numerous drawdowns, the overlapping structure appears to be in a large degree leading diagonal pattern. The below chart outlines the count that LINK appears to be following.

The only question to answer is the end of the 3rd wave. We typically see the MACD hit peak levels on the 3rd wave. The fact that it has rolled over hard supports that the 3rd wave may be over and we are in the early stages of a deeper pullback.

However, Link is finding support on the 20-day EMA in blue and holding (look at the chart below). If Link can hold, then break above $20, it supports that the 3rd wave can extend further, which we will want to be part of.

So, we have created a basic plan of action, outlined below.

  • If LINK cannot hold the 20-day EMA in blue, the final level the 3rd wave must hold is the $12.50-$11.80 support. If these levels hold, and we then break above $20, the 3rd wave has more room to run.
  • However, if the $12.50-$11.80 region breaks, we are in the 4th wave correction and should expect a deeper pullback. The first area of support in this scenario is the $9.80

For those that may think a drawdown of this magnitude is extreme, I encourage you to look at LINK’s relatively short history. In less than three years, there have been 21 drawdowns greater than 30%. Of those 21, eight are greater than 45%, five have been greater than 70%, and one was an 89% drawdown.

Chainlink is a volatile asset. Furthermore, it’s contribution to the blockchain microtrend is necessary, but still early. We consider this a long-term hold and expect a choppy ride. We do not believe that anyone has missed the uptrend, and that there will be many opportunities for entry. We will continue to add to this position when we see the setups forming.

Posted in Bitcoin, Chainlink, Market Updates, Stock Updates (Blogs)Leave a Comment on Market Report: August 23rd, 2020

Work-From-Home Could Eradicate Telecom Hardware ($BAND)

Posted on August 18, 2020June 30, 2026 by io-fund
Work-From-Home Could Eradicate Telecom Hardware ($BAND)

This article was originally published on Forbes on Aug 13, 2020,11:01pm EDTForbes on Aug 13, 2020,11:01pm EDT

Shelter-in-place has led to a surge for many stocks across e-commerce, online streaming, video conferencing and gaming as these subsectors are seen as the primary beneficiaries of covid-19. In many cases, this boost in usage is temporary as it requires people to spend an unnatural amount of time indoors, not to mention the effects of covid are fully priced-in to most of these stocks. 

The market can be myopic due to the sheer number of swing traders and machines driving the market. Therefore, strong consideration should be given to the long-term effects of covid even if the gains are not immediate or overnight. One trend I am monitoring closely for the more permanent effects is the disruption of telecom hardware systems through cloud-native communications. 

Cloud-native voice customers will be permanent and won’t revert back post-covid because it’s cheaper, can be scaled depending on immediate needs, and can also be built into collaboration platforms for increased productivity or used as a stand-alone. Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) enables reliable voice over a Tier-1 Network with a phone line as cheap at $0.35 compared to the typical phone bill that ranges between $20 to $30 per phone line.

Although there are many tech giants with products in the cloud-native communications space, such as Microsoft, Google and up-and-comer Zoom, the Tier 1 Network powering many of these voice features is offered by a little-known company called Bandwidth.

Hardware-as-a-Service Powered by Tier 1 Network

Where dedicated, daily user behavior within enterprises around VoIP and cloud native conferencing apps may have been many years out, covid-19 has sped up this more permanent trend. We were looking at growth of about $1.7 billion in 2017 to $6.7 billion in 2022 for this market. According to IDC, the global market will reach $17.2 billion by 2023. 

Corporations have been announcing permanent work-from-home policies with many discussions on earnings calls about the improvement in margins that is caused by not providing physical space. With many empty office buildings across metropolises, the common concern is what will happen to real estate prices and commercial rent. However, inside the buildings are miles of telecom wires that lay dormant at $20 to $30 per line per month. 

This need to re-envision the post-covid office extends beyond enterprises to also include SMBs, who will want to cut costs as stay-orders are extended, such as retail outlets, attorneys, dentists and insurance agents, to name a few.  

The company Bandwidth delivers SIP that enables voice-over-internet-protocol (VoIP) by defining the messages sent between endpoints and managing the actual elements of a call. SIP supports voice calls, video conferencing, instant messaging and media distribution. Bandwidth works with the very largest VoIP and video/audio conferencing companies with some important catalysts: (1) work-from-home migrating budgets (i.e. the customers), (2) large investments and innovation from Bandwidth’s customers including Zoom and Microsoft (i.e. the providers), and (3) the potential for global expansion. Phone lines offered by Bandwidth are as low as $0.35.

Major customers for Bandwidth include Zoom, Google, Cisco, Microsoft, Skype, RingCentral and Square. In this case, we do not need to predict or speculate who will take market share from the telecom hardware systems as all of the bigger players use Bandwidth (we do need to have conviction that cloud-native will replace telecom hardware).

Bandwidth offers a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) network of 70 million phone numbers. The category of Communications Platform as-a-service (CPaaS) is cloud-based middleware that facilitates cloud-based hosting and management of application programming interfaces (APIs). This helps simplify the programming process for real-time communication by embedding voice and messaging APIs into enterprise applications. 

While Twilio’s strength comes from native mobile applications with a loyal following of mobile application developers, Bandwidth’s strength and customer base comes from cloud-native companies.

The difference between these companies is important to review. Twilio enables communications for mobile applications, such as voice or text. When you text or make a call inside of a mobile application, you are likely using Twilio’s APIs. The company works with over 1,000 mobile carriers in over 150 countries for voice and text/SMS services. The features that come pre-packaged with Twilio are ideal for companies who want to cut down on development time, such as startups or pureplay apps. Examples include customer service calls on Zendesk and messaging home owners inside the AirBnB app.

However, large companies in the video and phone conferencing space (including business apps), with a primary focus on communications, are unlikely to incorporate an expensive third-party for out-of-the box development. As a network carrier, Bandwidth undercuts Twilio on pricing with cheaper outgoing and incoming calls plus free incoming SMS. This option is entirely focused on voice and SMS while its customers develop any additional features in-house. Twilio costs $1 for a dedicated number while Bandwidth costs $0.35 per dedicated number. This is why Bandwidth is the network provider for Google, Microsoft enterprise apps and Skype, and also Zoom.

Bandwidth’s product differentiation comes from the national IP network platform, which in turn, delivers reliability for audio calls. Bandwidth makes a fraction of a penny for every call or message that is sent over the Tier 1 network. Therefore, Bandwidth’s revenue is not up to par with Twilio’s at about $300 million on an annual run rate compared to $1.5 billion. Another contributing factor is that the mobile app economy has been fully built-out while cloud communications is very nascent. Therefore, as the trend grows, this should help deliver acceleration across Bandwidth’s financials.

Bandwidth owns the network and can serve enterprises who are seeking price efficiency. As stated in the IDC MarketScape analysis: Worldwide Cloud Communications PaaS analysis, this allows a high-level of reliability and quality. The companies who choose Bandwidth over Twilio are looking for “mission-critical” communications.

According to Gartner, Bandwidth’s direct competitor is actually AT&T when it comes to being a network provider with APIs, such as 911 access. Bandwidth recently announced Duet for Microsoft Teams, which provides direct routing with 911 capabilities as emergency calling is something CIOs must provide for in the event an employee needs to contact first responders. Bandwidth is one of two providers with E911.

More on Bandwidth (stock ticker: BAND):

This quarter highlighted Bandwidth’s ability to service the increasing communications needs of enterprises. The company accelerated revenue in Q2 to $76.8 million, up 35% year-over-year. This beat the consensus of 22% year-over-year growth, or $69.4 million. This is the best growth rate the company has ever recorded, up from 29% in Q1.

Dollar-based net retention rate improved from 113% to 133%. Forward guidance for Q3 came in above Street estimates and the company raised its full year outlook to 28% year-over-year at the midpoint.

The company highlighted broad-based growth across existing enterprise customers as they continue to elevate usage in their cloud-based communications services. Demand for messaging services was especially strong at 108% in Q2. The outperformance was due to higher A2P messaging surcharges, which are application-to-person messages that come from chatbots, appointment reminders or marketing messages.

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Management estimates the net impact of covid to be about 6% of revenue in Q2: “While it is becoming increasingly difficult to differentiate COVID-19-related usage from organic usage growth, we estimate that COVID-19 revenue impact in the second quarter to be in the range of $4.5 to $5 million.”

Despite management guiding for lower contribution from covid in the second half of the year, they raised the FY outlook 5.5% above the number they gave after Q1. With that said, momentum is on Bandwidth’s side after the company announced record total revenue growth (+35%), record CPaaS revenue growth (+40%), and a record dollar-based net retention rate (133%). 

There are a number of growth drivers in place for Bandwidth to see sustainable 25%+ growth over the next year:

1. Existing enterprise customers continuing to scale usage:

Bandwidth prices its services per API connection (i.e. per minute on calls or per message) so they will continue to grow with any permanent migrations.

Last month, Zoom announced two hardware-as-a-service options including hardware for “Zoom Phone” and “Zoom Rooms” and has announced ServiceNow will be using Zoom as hardware-as-a-service to displace its current phone system and legacy hardware. In the July announcement, ServiceNow stated, “Going forward, with the addition of Zoom Phone, we're getting a head start on an even more robust experience with Zoom— one-touch communication and collaboration features, plus Zoom-connected conference rooms.”

The two HaaS options Zoom launched allow companies working remotely (or in the office) to consolidate Zoom software and hardware for one consistent experience. Bandwidth is downstream from these products as they will increase the number of minutes and messages on its Tier 1 network.

Microsoft Teams competes with Zoom on both audio and video while using Bandwidth for audio. Aternity’s Productivity Tracker released a study in Mid-June showing that Microsoft Teams usage grew by 894% as of June 14th, compared with its base usage during the week of February 17th.

As more enterprises and businesses seriously consider replacing legacy phone systems, I believe they will go with the direct routing and E911 option in Microsoft Teams for reliability and safety concerns as the price is very competitive. Microsoft Teams competes with Zoom on both audio and video while offering Bandwidth for direct routing and E911. Aternity’s Productivity Tracker released a study in Mid-June showing that Microsoft Teams usage grew by 894% as of June 14th, compared with its base usage during the week of February 17th. 

2. Enterprises increasingly migrating to the cloud from on-premise legacy solutions:

Only 7 percent of Americans worked from home prior to covid-19. This number is likely to be much higher even after shelter-in-place is over. According to Sarah Walas, VP of Investor Relations at Bandwidth, calls over the voice network spiked 30 percent overall in March, with meeting-solutions clients like Zoom increasing usage by as much as 66 percent.

Bandwidth management announced a significant customer win in Q2 – a five-year multimillion-dollar agreement with a Fortune 100 company that is one of the nation’s 10 largest banks. The announcement between ServiceNow and Zoom Phone also point towards long-term or permanent hardware replacement.

Overall, the company ended Q2 with 1,900 active CPaaS customers (+30% YoY). Bandwidth is in an ideal position to continue to win large new customers looking for a migration partner with an attractive pricing model. We may see more growth here as the year goes on. Twilio released a survey in July that showed enterprise decision makers stating they believe their digital communications strategy has been accelerated by an average of 6 years. 

Analyst Estimates May Be Too Low

Wall Street consensus estimates are calling for FY21 revenue growth of 14.6% YoY. Just as Bandwidth blew past Street estimates in Q2 by 11%, estimates for 2021 remain very beatable.   Bandwidth is ideally positioned to be a sustained beneficiary of the digital transformation, even as the covid tailwind dissipates. 

As mentioned, management estimated that covid had a 6% impact on Q2 revenue, meaning they recorded a 26.4% purely organic growth rate, a number that would have still beat consensus estimates comfortably. Management also guided for less expected contribution from covid in the second half of 2020 and is still expecting 28% growth YoY.

The following year (2021) will present tougher comps, but with the trends driving Bandwidth’s growth firmly in place for the future, I think they can beat these low projections.

Conclusion:

As office buildings remain empty, traditional phone bills will be challenged by cloud-native phone systems. Not only is there a shift away from physical offices placing pressure on telecom hardware but companies are wanting to improve margins by cutting costs. Many trends are temporary or covid-dependent while telecommunications equipment could be permanently eradicated.

Twilio has benefited from the mobile app ecosystem. However, with the mega-trend driven by Zoom, Slack and Microsoft Teams, we may be transitioning towards a boom in unified communications and cloud productivity tools. If this is the case, Bandwidth could become a solid stock as their customer roster is full of large competitors in need of an independent Tier 1 network.

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Market Report: August 16th, 2020

Posted on August 15, 2020June 30, 2026 by io-fund

In this report we take a look at AMD, MRVL, LRCX, QCOM, NVDA

Please note the glossary of terms and techniques here and herehere and here

You can access our portfolio here. You can also track in real time our buys/sells/position updates in the forum. If you want to track us in real time, we recommend that you set up alerts to these 3 chat rooms, which can be done by clicking the link in the top corner of each chat room called, “subscribe for new topics.”  here. You can also track in real time our buys/sells/position updates in the forum. If you want to track us in real time, we recommend that you set up alerts to these 3 chat rooms, which can be done by clicking the link in the top corner of each chat room called, “subscribe for new topics.”  

In 2019, cloud was the best performing sector before it began to show weakness in July. Cloud stocks led the market out of the December 2018 selloff, providing sizable outperformance for just over seven months in the first part of the year. Then, with no exogenous catalyst, a rotation began out of cloud/SaaS names and into underperforming value names.

This rotation saw the average cloud stock drop around 35-40%. Mega cap names in this space that were not pure plays, like Microsoft and Salesforce, stayed flat during this rotation. However, pure plays, such as Zoom and Twilio, saw drawdowns greater than 40%, while other names, like Crowdstrike and Zscaler, saw drawdowns greater than 50%. The value rotation, as it was called in 2019, took about three months to bottom. During this three month span, the S&P 500 gained about 2%.

Last week, on August 5th, the market began a new rotation out of cloud stocks and into value oriented sectors. Since the rotation began, the average cloud stock is down approximately 8-10%, while financials are up 3.5%, industrials are up 5.8% and transports are up 6.5%. Just like in 2019, this rotation is hardly noticeable in the broad market, with the NASDAQ100 being up 0.3% and the S&P 500 being up 1.4% over the same period.

No one knows how this year’s rotation will play out – whether it will bottom this Monday or be as deep as the rotation in 2019. Regardless, the cloud microtrend still has a few years to play out, so, if this rotation continues to deeper levels, we view it as a buying opportunity regardless of the prevailing sentiment at the time.

However, instead of focusing on the popular stocks that are taking a breather, I’d like to focus on a theme we began working towards prior to this rotation: semiconductors.

The two cloud ETFs, SKYY and CLOU, are a reasonable gauge for the cloud sub-sector. The ETF, SKYY, has an overweight to mega cap names like Amazon, Microsoft and Alibaba, while CLOU is focused on the small to medium sized pure plays, like Twilio, Zoom and Zscaler. Since the market bottomed on March 23 and began a new uptrend this year, the top performing sub-sector within tech is semiconductors.

Furthermore, if we look at our active portfolio, we can see being diversified by including semiconductors, as well as chainlink and bitcoin, has put us in a relatively stronger position than if we were solely focused on the momentum cloud names.

The above graph is our active portfolio, broken down into sub-sectors of tech. Most importantly, we show the current moving average that each position is testing. We currently have seven positions above their 8-day moving average in green – 1 in cloud, 2 cryptos, and 4 semis.

Furthermore, you’ll notice that we have five positions testing their 55-day moving average in red are all cloud names, with one semi. The vast majority of cloud names are testing their 55-day moving average right now. This is evident by the two cloud ETFs, SKYY and CLOU, which are both below their 20-day moving averages and testing the upper bounds of their 55-day moving averages.

In this report, we will focus on the sector that is not only holding up, but showing unnoticed strength behind the noise in the market. Semiconductors will likely never be as buzzworthy because you can’t directly use the products, like you can with Zoom, Netflix, and Shopify. They are also much more complicated to understand, which is why so few analysts cover them relative to other areas of tech.

However, as Beth has laid out over the last two years, semis will likely be the primary beneficiary of the upcoming microtrends in 5G and AI. For this reason, we have been positioning for this transition when very few were talking about it because of the cloud frenzy between April-June.

Immediate Setups

Advanced Micro Device (AMD)

SummarySummary

  • If price falls into the $73-$70 range, we will look to buy.
  • If price breaks out above the $88-$91 price range, we will also buy with tight stops.

So far, we guided three entries around AMD – two below the breakout zone at $48 and $55, and one on the retest of the breakout zone around $61. I believe the stock is setting up to provide another entry, which we will look to take today.

The Long-Term Trend (Weekly Chart)The Long-Term Trend (Weekly Chart)

Since bottoming in 2015, AMD has been in a strong uptrend, returning over 5000% from its low at $1.61. Even after such impressive gains, according to Beth’s fundamental theses (here and here), the future growth in AMD is something we want to continue participate in.

By analyzing the structure of uptrend in the weekly chart above, we can get an idea of the long-term trend in play from a technical perspective. For one, the trend appears to be healthy and is confirming Beth’s fundamental theses. Over a long-term timeframe, both the fundamentals and technicals are suggesting higher prices, which is always encouraging. However, over the short to intermediate term time frame, the technicals are seeing some apparent risk in AMD at current prices.

This is evident not only by the price failing to breakout of the $88-$91 price range, which is where an important cluster of prices is acting as resistance, but also by the internal momentum indicators. The MACD is at peak levels on the weekly chart, which usually accompanies a 3rd wave top, and on the daily chart that is discussed below, the MACD has already turned down. Also, notice the negative divergence on the MFI and RSI. This may take weeks to play out, but as long as this divergence is forming, there is risk of a correction.

The Setup (Daily Chart)The Setup (Daily Chart)

By looking at AMD on a shorter time frame, there appears to be 2 potential buying zones, if the price continues to show weakness.

The above chart is a close-up of the recent daily moves in AMD. Note the strength of the uptrend after breaking out of the $58-$59 resistance region – the price went nearly parabolic, with two large gaps in the chart.

After such a move, it is not uncommon for the stock to correct before the next leg higher. With the divergences in the weekly chart, which we just pointed out, coupled with the MACD rolling over in the daily chart above, it appears that AMD is setting up for one more leg lower.

If this is the case, there are two forces at play that should create strong support between the $73-$70 region:

Gaps – Gaps are powerful forces in technical analysis. Once a gap is made, it is likely that it will be filled in the future. In short, these are areas of intense buying/selling. I’ve outlined the two gaps in blue with the prices on the right.

Symmetry – Corrections typically unfold in three legs. The length of the 3rd and final leg is usually the length of the first leg down. The first leg down for AMD fell – 12.8%. If we track – 12.8% from the top of the most recent top, or the beginning of a potential 3rd leg down, it falls right in the middle of the first gap at $73.25.

We want to be fully allocated to AMD sooner rather than later. Therefore, if AMD falls between $73-$70, I will add. If AMD falls to the lower gap at $64-$62, I will also look to add. Also, if price pushes higher, never touching the $73 target, and instead breaks out above the $90-$91 region, I will look to add.

Marvell (MRVL)

Summary

  • If price falls at or below the $33 in the current correction, we will look to buy.
  • If the correction is over and price instead breaks out above $38 on elevated volume, we will look to buy.

Since bottoming in March, Marvell has been in, what appears to be, the middle of a standard 5-wave uptrend to all new highs. One of the key tells is that the 3rd wave in this pattern has topped exactly at the price extension we most commonly see 3rd waves top. For MRVL, this level is the $38 resistance.

Since Marvell topped  at this region, it has been in a standard 3-wave correction, as shown by the blue letters. Like with AMD, we can use symmetry to help gauge a buying zone. For the first leg down in MRVL, price dropped -13% from the all time high. After the bounce, price then began another decline, stopping just short of another -13% drop and just above the $33.

Also, note the internal signals, as well. We are seeig positive divergence on the A/D line as well as the MFI. Also, we have a positive RSI reversal pattern, where the RSI makes a lower low and price makes a higher high. This is a rare signal that suggests the uptrend will likely continue.

With so many buying signals in the internals, there is a good chance that the correction for MRVL is either over, or will catch a nice bounce. If Marvell trades into the $33 region (or close to it), I will add to our positon. Also, if price continues higher from here, we will look into adding on the breakout above $38. Either way, we are looking to add to our position in Marvell.

Lam Research (LRCX)

SummarySummary

  • If the price continues to correct into the $355-$337 price range, we will look to buy.$355-$337 price range, we will look to buy.
  • We will not buy if price breaks out above the $388.50 resistance.

Like Marvell, Lam Research has provided what appears to be a standard 5-wave uptrend off the March lows, as outlined by the red count on the chart above. Also, like MRVL, Lam Research recently stalled at the exact extension where 3rd waves typically end, which for LRCX is the $388.50 resistence.

Also, with the CCI and MFI showing strong signs of negative divergence, it is likely that LRCX further corrects before completing the 5-wave pattern to new highs. The most likely regions of support for a 4th wave, which also coincides with the 55-day EMA in red and a number of important price clusters, is between the $355 and $337 region. This will be the region I will look to add to our position

Adversely, if LAM does find the momentum to break to new highs above $388.50, then its 3rd wave can extend further. We will likely wait for a pullback to add to this position if the breakout scenario does happen.

Waiting for a Setup

Qualcomm (QCOM)

Summary

  • There is no immediate buy setup I’m seeing at current prices.
  • The charts are suggesting the QCOM is likely to correct soon, which we will use to add to our position.

If you haven’t read Beth’s recent analysis on Qualcomm, you can do so here. We recently bought a new position for our long-term portfolio on the breakout above the $93-$100 resistance zone that has kept Qualcomm bottled up for two decades.

Like Microsoft, Qualcomm has over two decades of price data to analyze. With that comes multiple trends on very large timescales at play. With that in mind, we will focus on the trend that is governing the short to intermediate timeframe, which is outlined in the chart below.

The above uptrend started in early 2016, which is around the same time that AMD began the long-term trend that we point out above. If we compare the structure of Qualcomm’s trend to AMD, you should notice a stark difference. Note the very choppy/overlapping pattern in Qualcomm compared to AMD’s near parabolic trend that has very little overlap.

With QCOM, even though the pattern is choppy, it has technically been in an uptrend, making a series of higher highs and lower lows. The structure appears to be a large degree leading diagonal pattern, which is a series of 5 overlapping waves that usually tracks a trendline. When the 5th wave in the structure completes, we usually see a correction.

Keep in mind, this is over the short to intermediate time-frame. Regarding the long-term trend, once again, the fundamentals and technicals are lining up. Technically, this large degree leading diagonal is likely the first wave in a large 5-wave uptrend. That being said, the next correction will likely be a fantastic buying opportunity.

What makes me cautious on adding at current levels and instead waiting for a pullback is:

  • Qualcomm is stalling at the $114-$116 price region, which is an important zone to clear if QCOM will resume its uptrend.
  • The price has an established 5-waves where the 5th wave is at the upper boundary of the trend channel.
  • The MFI is at an extreme overbought condition, while showing slight negative divergence.
  • The CCI and Accumulation/Distribution line are also diverging from price, suggesting weakness.

If we do get a drawdown, the likely target for retrace will be a retest of the breakout zone between $93-$100. Coincidentally, this area lines up with two important retrace levels. If price does pullback to this region, we will add to QCOM in our long-term portfolio. However, if the current uptrend decides to breakout to new highs – above $114-$116, we will continue to buy into the strength with tight stops to protect us. But for now, we will remain patient for the next setup.

Nvidia (NVDA)

SummarySummary

  • With a long-term timeframe, we are not conservative with adding to our position in Nvidia, taking every buying setup that forms.
  • There is no clear buy setup right now in Nvidia.
  • Nvidia is showing considerable strength going into earnings this week, while at all-time highs, and trading above its 8-day EMA.
  • However, the weekly chart, which tracks the long-term trend, is suggesting Nvidia could see a pullback in the short to intermediate timeframe, which, if happens, we will use to add to our position.

Nvidia is one of our favorite stories over the next 5+ years. As long-term investors, we are taking every setup we see in Nvidia. However, eventually, Nvidia will have to take a breather, which we will use to add to our position.

The above chart tracks the weekly moves in NVDA since it first started trading in 1999. Note the trend channel in gray. Rarely, do we see a stock successfully trading within, and respecting the boundaries of, a trend channel for so long. Notice the significant bottoms that occurred at the base of the channel, and also how price topped out when touching the top of the channel.

Today, Nvidia has successfully broken out of the upper boundaries of the channel, which is typically a very bullish sign. We added two new entries on this breakout for our long-term portfolio.

However, for anyone with a short to intermediate time frame, what gives me slight pause are the internal signals flashing. Note the negative divergence in the weekly CCI while the weekly MFI is at overbought conditions.

If you look back throughout the history of Nvidia’s price action, when you see these two patterns in unison on a weekly chart (marked by the horizontal red dotted lines), it always preceded a pullback of some degree. Some of these pullbacks were large and some were quite small, but it has been a solid indicator with Nvidia’s price action so far.

Keep in mind, the above chart is tracking the weekly moves in Nvidia. So, we could see higher levels from here before any pullback develops. We do not expect any weakness in Nvidia to be deep. Likely, we will get a retest of the upper trend channel. We will take any opportunity to add to this company.

Pullbacks are inevitable, and we will take any pullback from current prices as a gift with a long-term time frame in mind. In the meantime, we will keep tracking Nvidia for more break outs.

Posted in Market Updates, Stock Updates (Blogs)Leave a Comment on Market Report: August 16th, 2020

Market Report: August 10th, 2020

Posted on August 9, 2020June 30, 2026 by io-fund

In this report we analyze: Teladoc, Twilio, Zoom, Roku, Dynatrace, Docusign, Inseego, Shopify, Microsoft, Slack  

Please note the glossary of terms and techniques here and herehere and here

You can access our portfolio here. You can also track in real time our buys/sells/position updates in the forum. If you want to track us in real time, we recommend that you set up alerts to these 3 chat rooms, which can be done by clicking the link in the top corner of each chat room called, “subscribe for new topics.”  here. You can also track in real time our buys/sells/position updates in the forum. If you want to track us in real time, we recommend that you set up alerts to these 3 chat rooms, which can be done by clicking the link in the top corner of each chat room called, “subscribe for new topics.”  

In this week’s report, we look at the number of buys/sells we made in our active portfolio. There were more breakouts last week than usual, setting up for a potential next leg higher. We added to ZM, ROKU, DT and began positions in DOCU and SHOP based on this trend following strategy.

Taking trend following setups has treated us well over the last 4 months. In light of our emotions, talking heads and public fund managers, to the contrary, we’ve taken bullish setups as they’ve formed. Because of this, we’ve locked in a solid long-term cost basis in WORK, DT, DDOG, MRVL, AMD, ZM, to name a few. We’ve also been stopped out of some positions with reasonable gains and some minimal losses along the way.

However, when we start seeing leaders in an uptrend provide setups and then fail all at once, it tells me that we should be a little cautious moving forward. Trend following works, until it doesn’t for a period of time, and for this reason we use stops on recent positions so that we can step aside if sentiment shifts.  

So far, all but Shopify have failed or are on the verge of failing. We explain how we will manage risk in these new positions, just in case we are on the verge of a deeper correction.

We also take a deeper dive into Roku, Teladoc, and Zoom, explain why we are looking to pick up more shares at lower levels.

We then explain why we sold out positions in Twilio and half our position in Inseego, as well as outline a potential plan to pick up shares at lower prices.

Finally, we outline two potential setups with Microsoft and Slack

Last Week’s Portfolio Activity

Breakout Buys

Roku (ROKU)

Summary

  • Roku broke out of a clear bull flag pattern on elevated volume.
  • Like all setups over the last several months, we bought into this rally.
  • It appears to be breaking down; however, based on our analysis of the price structure, we have decided to hold Roku without stops, and look to enter if price continues to slide.

Key Price Levels

  • A break above $169.15 will signal that the correction is over, and the uptrend will likely resume.
  • A break below the 20-day SMA, which is currently around $151.50, will be the first warning of a trend change.
  • A break below $142 will confirm this trend change.

Last week, we had a beautiful setup in Roku. A base was forming on decreasing volume, with a clear breakout price above $158. On elevated volume, we bought shares into this breakout around $160.

After Roku reported their earnings, which were quite strong on revenue compared to other ad-tech companies, shares broke down below $158. Now, they are threatening to break below the base created around $142.

After further analysis over the weekend, I have concluded that it is likely Roku is in the 2nd wave within a new uptrend. In other words, after a correction, we will likely see price break to new highs.

The above chart lays out this path. First off, the Accumulation/Distribution Line (A/D) is suggesting that more downside is likely.  A clean break of the 20-day EMA (in blue) will be the first confirmation. A break below the base at $142 will be the final confirmation that we are in the 2nd wave, which will lead to a trend change.

The targets are between $137 – $121 (~15% – ~25% drawdown from our cost basis). It is possible that the 2nd wave can retrace the entirety of the 1st wave, which would put our current position at a ~35% drawdown. I find this unlikely, considering the ignored growth Roku continues to produce. Relative to other ad tech names, Roku’s runway and positioning is much stronger, yet the relative price has been mostly subdued (read Beth’s recent blog on Q2 Earnings)

We are removing the stop from this recent open-trade, because we can take the worst case scenario of a 35% drawdown on such a small piece of our portfolio. However, the likely targets will be a 15% – 25% drawdown, if the $142 region breaks and we enter a confirmed second wave.

For anyone that wants to use a stop, the 20-day EMA is the most conservative, and more liberal stop would be at the $141.40 closing price.

Dynatrace (DT)

Summary

  • Dynatrace had a solid setup, with two internal buy signals and price tracing a bull flag.
  • It broke down, invalidating the setup, and found support of the $37 region.
  • Our stop is placed just below this zone.
  • I believe DT is in a 4th wave pullback, which can be as shallow as $37 or as deep as $27. We consider any price below $33 to be a strong buy.
  • Dynatrace is relatively undervalued compared to many of the SaaS names, so we do not expect the correction in DT to be as deep.

Key Price Levels

  • Below $37 will confirm the $32 level is in play.
  • A break above $45 will signal the 4th wave is over and the uptrend will resume.

Dynatrace is another stock we bought on a potential breakout. The Accumulation/Distribution line was making new highs, suggesting that smart money was heavily buying the correction. Also, there was a positive divergence signal in the CCI.

These 2 buy signals, when coupled with price tracking a noticeable bull flag pattern, more times than not, it leads to the beginning of the next leg up. Unfortunately, Dynatrace fell after Datadog reported their earnings. This move invalidated the buy setup we were following.

Dynatrace has, once again, found support on the $37 region. As you can see in the chart above, this price region has a tight cluster of important prices and has held up DT for 2 months. For this reason, we placed our stop just under it at $36.70 (closing price). If this level breaks, and we get stopped out, the next likely target will be the $32 region.

My count suggests that we are entering the 4th wave in red on the chart. The green box represents the most likely targets for a 4th wave correction.  The blue box represents a deep 4th wave pullback.

I find the blue targets unlikely considering that DT is largely unknown and has escaped some of the stretched valuations we’ve seen in the more popular names. However, if the price does retrace into this region, we consider it a steal and will likely buy in volume.

Shopify (SHOP)

Summary

  • Shopify broke out of a solid base on elevated volume.
  • Unlike many of the SaaS names, it is holding up above the breakout zone.
  • This is a company we want to own for the long-term; however, we do not want to overpay.
  • Our stop on this attempt to participate in the uptrend is set at $969.80 (closing price).

Key Price Level

  • A break above $1105 will signal the that the uptrend will continue.
  • $987 will close the first gap – first level of support.
  • $929 will close the second gap – second level of support.
  • Below $920 is a failed base, and will signal the likelihood of a trend change.

Shopify has formed a classic base with decreasing volume leading into the breakout zone at $1023. It gaped up through this zone on heavy volume, which was our signal to buy.

Even in light of Friday’s SaaS selloff, Shopify held up relatively well. It has not broken back down below $1023, so the breakout is still valid. If we are at the beginning of a deeper selloff, our stop will protect us, and we can hopefully pick up long-term shares at lower prices.

Docusign (DOCU)

Summary

  • Like Shopify, Docusign formed a solid base and price broke out on elevated volume.
  • After three consecutive days of selling, DOCU has found support at the $200 region.
  • Our stop is placed just below this level.

Key Price Levels

  • Above $230 will signal that the uptrend has more room to run.
  • Below $190 signals a failed base and the likelihood of a trend change.

Docusign, like Shopify, was developing a solid base with a clear breakout price. After breaking out, we bought a small amount of a starter position. Like many SaaS names, it sold off sharply, with three consecutive days selling.

We have raised our stop to just under the $200-$199 support region. There is a large amount of volume at this support zone. If DOCU breaks it and closes below $198.50, we will log ~10% loss and look for the next setup.

Keep in mind, like Shopify and Zoom, this stock is overpriced for a reason. We want to own this stock and forget about it; however, we don’t want to overpay. I

For those that want a wider stop, $189.90 (closing price), Below that is the $161.80 price (closing).

Zoom Video (ZM)

Summary

  • Zoom is on the verge of confirming a failed breakout.
  • The correction could be shallow or deep, based on the 2 counts I believe are potentially active.
  • Regardless, we are taking the stops off Zoom, and will look to keep adding in any further weakness.

Key Price Levels

  • Above $281 will signal that the uptrend is still intact.
  • A break below $240 will put the two correction scenarios in place.

Zoom is another stock that was providing a breakout buy. Note the pennant forming in blue – a classic trend continuation pattern. This was confirmed with decreasing volume, then a breakout on elevated buying volume.

However, like almost every bullish setup we took this week, it appears to be in the early stages of breaking down. The below chart provides my analysis on the two paths Zoom can take if the price breaks below the $240 line.

Below $240, and there are two scenarios that could play out:

  • Zoom has a shallow correction, likely finding support between the $242 – $220 region.
  • Zoom has a deep correction, which can take us as low as $205-$196.

The Accumulation/Distribution line is suggesting that smart money is buying into this correction, as are we. We put Zoom in a high conviction category along with Roku, Nvidia and AMD. These are stocks we want to own with a long-term frame of mind. If the market does give us a deeper correction than we think possible, we will buy more.

Closed Positions

Teladoc (TDOC) and Livongo (LVGO)

Summary

  • We closed our positions in LVGO for two very nice gains.
  • Teladoc has confirmed a trend change with a clean 5 wave drop from all-time highs.
  • We closed our position in TDOC around the breakeven point.
  • There are 3 scenarios for where this correction will likely find a bottom.
  • If TDOC bottoms at the $192 region and makes new highs, we will look to continue our trend following strategy, buying in on a new breakout.

Key Price Levels

  • Above $240 signals the uptrend will likely resume.
  • A break below $192 will put a correction scenario in play.

Because TDOC is purchasing LVGO, and the payment to shareholders will be in TDOC shares (plus cash), we will focus our attention mostly on TDOC going forward.

After announcing the buyout of Livongo, Teladoc shares fell nearly 20% in 1 day while Livongo fell about 11%. The following day, price recovered slightly, only to make a lower low, which completed a symmetrical 5 waves down from their all-time high.

The above chart is a close up of this pattern. Seeing a clean 5 waves down from an all-time high, more times than not, signals a trend change, the extent of which is yet to be known.

After a discussion, we decided to close our position in TDOC on the 4th wave bounce, which ended up being around the breakeven point of our cost basis. We also closed our combined positions in LVGO – one for 81% gain and the other for a 19% gain.

We don’t believe that this sentiment shift in Teladoc is over. As of now, we still believe it will be the primary beneficiary in the telehealth microtrend. However, once sentiment shifts, it can move much farther than most realize, which governed our decision to not ride it out while we could still avoid logging a loss.

The below chart is our current game plan for picking up shares at a lower cost basis.

After completing 5 waves down, note the CCI and the MACD histogram. Both are showing positive divergence. This is also present on the RSI as well. Also, the price has tagged a key Fibonacci extension at $192. I believe this will be the end of the A wave, and the B wave retrace will likely test the 200-hour SMA in black, which happens to fall in line with the 50% retrace of the A wave.

If price breaks below the $192 level, the next supports that could be potential bottoms for the C-wave:

  • The $174-$172 support.  A large amount of volume has accumulated in this region. This will be a tough area for price to break through, and we will first look to this area for a buying opportunity (~30% drawdown).
  • $155 is an area that has a tight cluster of key Fibonacci prices. It’s also the 14.6% retrace of the entire uptrend that started in 2016 (~38% drawdown).

Since Teladoc has been trading, we have seen a drawdown greater than 75%, one around 54%, and 3 drawdowns greater than 30%.

Also, there is a chance the bottom is in at $192 and the uptrend resumes. If this is the case, we will treat TDOC like our other trend following stocks – look for a base, buy in with a stop and ride the trend.

Inseego (INSG)

Summary

  • Inseego failed breaking out to all new highs, confirming a double top.
  • The extent of the correction is yet to be seen.
  • We closed our open-trade in INSG on the bounce, logging an 8% gain.
  • We still own a position without stops because we like the 5G story for last mile connectivity

Key Price Levels

  • Above $15 will confirm a breakout, and the uptrend can resume.
  • A break below $11 puts the $9 support in play.

Inseego was another position we closed for a slight gain of 8% last week. As you can see, the price built a solid, multi-month base leading up to the breakout zone around $14 – $15. There were warning signs present as price approached the $15 breakout zone, as evidenced by the negative divergence in the MACD and RSI.

However, the increased buying pressure, coupled with a strong report can negate these signs, resetting the internals for a new leg. This was the bet we took going into earnings.

Inseego’s report did not impress, it gapped down below the 20-day EMA (blue), and found strong support on the 55-day EMA (red). This is shown by the two daily hammer patterns.

There are two obvious paths Inseego can take, of which we will add some detail:

  • INSG holds support and builds a new base back up to the $15 resistance, followed by a break out. This would look like a Cup & Handle Pattern. If this happens, the large degree 5-wave pattern that started off the March low will extend further to new highs, and we will participate in this breakout.
  • Price breaks down below $11, which is the 23.6% retrace of the uptrend off the March low. If this happens, it will signal the first wave is over, and we are in the larger degree 2nd wave. If this is the case, we could see price hit the $9 region.

We are holding the position we acquired at $9.70 without stops. We do believe it’s only a matter of time before INSG moves to new highs while riding the 5G microtrend and we are comfortable riding out the volatility present in the small cap space.

Twilio (TWLO)

Summary

  • We closed our position in TWLO for a 17% gain.
  • So far, it is tracking our Elliott Wave count perfectly.
  • We will look to lower levels to re-enter TWLO, while it plays out a 4th wave decline.

Key Price Levels

  • A break above $290 will confirm that the uptrend can resume.
  • Below $252 will confirm a trend change.
  • Potential 4th Wave target/bottoms are $217, $203, $170.

On Friday, Twilio closed below the 20-day EMA (in blue), which was our stop for this position. We logged a 17% gain and raised some cash going into the potential SaaS sell off. However, anyone following us in this trade noticed that we raised our stop two weeks ago. The reason we raised our stop is due to how closely TWLO was tracking the Elliott Wave count we believe is active. In short, after completing an ending diagonal with negative divergence in all the major momentum indicators, we believe that the 3rd wave off the March low has completed.

Regarding the standard targets for a 4th wave, we should see TWLO trade into the $217 – $170 region. We will look to this region, or evidence of a bottom forming around this region, to get back in.

Like Teladoc, there is the potential that we find a quick bottom and start trading back into new highs. If this happens, like with TDOC, we will look to re-enter on the next breakout. However, we will do so with 17% more capital to invest.

Potential Setups

Microsoft (MSFT)

Summary

  • Microsoft is the canary in the coal mine regarding the broad market.
  • The weight of evidence supports a relatively shallow 4th wave.
  • However, a deeper correction cannot be ruled out as long as MSFT stays below the $218-$220 price zone.

Key Price Levels

  • Above $220 confirms the low is in for this correction, and the uptrend can resume.
  • Below $205 puts the $198 and $187 price regions in play.
  • Below $180 and the deep correction scenario becomes a real possibility.

Microsoft is an interesting case. We did a deep dive into the technicals last week, which you can review here.  As of today, the direction Microsoft goes is the way the market goes. For this reason, I keep this chart active on a daily basis and have put more thought into this chart than almost any other that we track.

I believe MSFT is actually in its 4th wave off the March lows. It’s setting up for a buy between $205, which will close the gap, and $187, which is the lower target for a 4th wave.  Note the heavy confluence of important price clusters on the chart, one of which the price is currently trading within – $218-$211. These zones will be likely bottoming areas that we will analyze for entries in real time.

If you read my report last week, you’ll remember that as long as price remains below the $218-$220 mark, there is the slim possibility for a deeper pullback on the table. This level is the 138.2% extension of the March selloff (or, in the bearish count, the A wave). That would make the current uptrend the B wave.

The limit a B wave can stretch beyond an A wave, in my experience, is the 138.2% extension. For MSFT, this is the $218-$220 level. I find it interesting that this is the very level that MSFT stalled and cannot break through. For this reason, we will use stops with our new position in Microsoft, until it clears the $218-$220 price point.

Slack (WORK)

Summary

  • Slack is a high conviction play that we are eagerly waiting to grab more shares of for our long-term portfolio.
  • The evidence suggests that Slack is in a wave 2 off the March lows.
  • The likely targets are between $27.50 – $24.50. However, we could be in for a correction as deep as $21.

Key Price Levels

  • A break above $31 on elevated volume suggests that Slack may have found a bottom in this correction off the highs.
  • Below $24 puts the $21 level in play.
  • The two levels of volume that are keeping the price range bound are between $31-$30 and $21-$20.

Slack has moved below the wall of volume between the $31-$30 price range. Based on the structure, I believe Slack is in the stage of its 2nd wave in a 5-wave uptrend that started off the March lows.

We believe this stock is undervalued, and we will look to grab shares for our long-term portfolio between $27.50 and $24.50. This region has a number of symmetrical price points, the 200-day SMA as well as the most common retrace levels for a 2nd wave. It is possible that this correction tags the $21 region; however, we find this to be unlikely. Regardless, we will look to re-enter our position in Slack without stops soon.

Posted in Market Updates, Stock Updates (Blogs)Leave a Comment on Market Report: August 10th, 2020

BigCommerce IPO

Posted on August 4, 2020June 30, 2026 by io-fund

BigCommerce priced today on August 4th and is scheduled to trade tomorrow, August 5th. You can view the S-1 Filing here.

Overview

Investors who missed out on Shopify will be eyeing the BigCommerce IPO although there are some important differences to consider. For the most part, the differences are seen in the financials. 

Shopify has an annual run rate of $2.8 billion compared to BigCommerce at $151 million based on current quarter’s earnings. This is roughly 20 times more revenue.

Despite Shopify having 20X higher revenue, the company is also growing 3X faster at 97% year-over-year compared to BigCommerce at 31-32% year-over-year through end of June. Before covid-19, Shopify was posting growth between 45-70% compared to BigCommerce in the low 20% range – so again, about 3X more growth for Shopify.

When we look historically at Shopify, the company was growing 95% year-over-year in 2015 when reporting $200 million in revenue. Therefore, no matter how we compare the two companies, whether it’s historically during similar revenue size, pre-covid in 2019, and also post-covid in 2020, Shopify has remained nearly 3X more growth than BigCommerce and is continuing to do so at high revenue run rates.

One way to determine customer demand between competing products is to look at Google Trends. Below we can visualize the popularity of Shopify compared to BigCommerce. It’s interesting to see that BigCommerce search trends have not ticked up much in 2020.

According to the S-1 Filing, BigCommerce will report 30% to 32% revenue growth for the quarter ending June 30th with revenue expected to be between $35.5 million and $35.8 million compared to $27.2 million in the previous year. Net losses will slightly improve from $11 million same-quarter last year to between $9.4 and $9.0 million this year.

The company had a gross margin of 76.1% in 2018, 75.9% in 2019, and 76.8% and 77.5% for the three months ended March 31, 2019 and 2020, respectively. The company had a net losses of $38.9 million in 2018, $42.6 million in 2019, and $10.5 million and $4.0 million in the three months ended March 31, 2019 and 2020, respectively.

The company is reporting ARR to be roughly $151 million, which is higher than the $144 million ARR if calculated off the current quarter. This will represent an increase of 31.5% at the mid-way point, up from $115 million ARR from June 30th last year.

BigCommerce saw Essentials plans increase 33% in March, 106% in April and 86% in May. The enterprise plans increased only 14% and 13% in March and April before showing a marked improvement of 60% in May. Interesting enough, BigCommerce did not match Shopify’s offer of extending a free trial from two weeks to three months to incentivize covid conversions.

According to the filing, BigCommerce ranks second to Shopify from third-party reviews: “As of June 1, 2020, BuiltWith.com (“BuiltWith”) ranked us the world’s second most-used SaaS ecommerce platform and top five overall among the top one million sites globally by traffic, which we believe consists primarily of established SMBs.

We also were ranked the second most-used SaaS ecommerce platform among the top 100,000 sites globally by traffic, which we believe consists primarily of mid-market and large enterprise businesses.”

Ecommerce Market

There were quite a few statistics provided by BigCommerce in the S-1 filing that support growth of e-commerce, such as: “In June 2020, eMarketer predicted that U.S. brick and mortar retail spending will decline by 14% in 2020, whereas U.S. consumer ecommerce spending will increase by 18%, the highest growth rate since their coverage began in 2008.”

According to McKinsey & Company, 10 years of growth has occurred in e-commerce in the last three months with the microtrend showing hockey stick growth in Q1 2020. Evidence of this was seen in Shopify’s most recent earnings report yet BigCommerce has only accelerated from mid-20% growth to mid-30% growth.

One notable positive for BigCommerce is that Tiger Global plans to buy up to 20% of the shares. This is one reason Fastly has done well; Abdiel Capital owned a significant amount of shares relative to float helping to prop the stock price. Tiger Global Management’s interest was disclosed at the beginning of the S-1 filing.

Company Background:

The company was founded by Eddie Machalaani and Mitch Harper in 2009. It was spun off from their email marketing Software Company called Interspire which was started in 2003 by a chance meeting in an online chatroom. It also relocated the company from Sydney to Texas in 2009.

The company announced a $15 million Series A funding led by General Catalyst in August 2011. It acquired Zing, a provider of mobile retail technologies in April 2015. Later that year, the company leadership transitioned from the original founders to the current CEO and management team. In May 2018 it raised $64 million Series F investment round led by Goldman Sachs. It also opened the London office in the same year.

Growth Opportunities:

BigCommerce is focused on international expansion. The company pointed out in the S1 filing that 25% of their stores are located outside of the United States compared to 58% of ecommerce sites located outside the United States. In July of 2018, BigCommerce launched their first European team in London, and in 2019, their first Asian office in Singapore. Revenue grew 20% in EMEA and 28% in APAC in 2019.

According to BuiltWith as of January 2020, 42% of all ecommerce websites are based in the United States, and 58% are outside of the U.S. IDC estimates that the Americas, Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), and the Asia Pacific region (APAC) will represent 61%, 22%, and 17% of total global spend on ecommerce platform technology in 2020, respectively, with EMEA and APAC growing at CAGR’s of 8% and 17% through 2024, respectively.

In the Alibaba PDF, we covered the importance of the B2B ecommerce trend (as opposed to the B2C trend). Last year, 10% of BigCommerce’s customers came from B2B sales. In addition, Forrester rated BigCommerce as a “strong performer” for B2B Commerce Suites in Q2 2020. The management has noted this is an area of focus for them. This is an important area to watch as Shopify and other B2C competitors are not listed here.

Facebook Shops launched in May of 2020 as a headless commerce option where various backend services are presented to social media users. For instance, a consumer may be finishing a purchase with Shopify, BigCommerce, Woocommerce, or a few others and the product description will look the same. This eliminates the need for a website in order to sell products. BigCommerce already had previous Facebook integrations. Facebook’s long game is to integrate the cyptocurrency Libra.

Note on Valuation:

BigCommerce has increased its shares from 6.85 million to 9.02 million. The estimated price range is $21 to $23 as of 12 pm ET on August 4th. This puts the market value at $1.7 billion, fully diluted. If we take the ARR the company has represented at $151 million, then the price to sales is 11.2. At the actual ARR of $144 million, the price-to-sales is 11.8. As pointed out by Nasdaq.com, BigCommerce calculates ARR differently than Shopify.

There are very few SaaS companies trading at a forward 11-12 price-to-sales. Shopify is trading at a forward PS ratio of 48. This is why you should expect the opening price to be much higher for retail investors.

Pictured above: Fast-growing SaaS companies can attract a forward price-to-sales around 30 with forward growth of 40%. BigCommerce has forward growth of 32%.

I think it’s important to point out that most IPOs settle below or at their opening price within the first year (assuming BigCommerce opens at a 30-40 price-to-sales).

When Zoom Video went public, they had an immaculate S-1 filing with sizable growth and had a clear and straight path to profitability. We saw this company come down and trade at its opening IPO price within the first year. Pinterest traded below its IPO price many times. Slack has not fully recovered its opening IPO price. Roku began to shoot up very nicely with earnings beats and so this was an exception where the company’s IPO opening was a good deal and buying in the first quarter of its trading history created gains.

BigCommerce has chosen this time to go public for a reason as ecommerce has serious momentum. It’s impossible to predict where the stock will open for retail investors.  

BigCommerce will hope to ride Shopify’s coattails. It’s important to consider that we’ve been given a glimpse of how covid has re-accelerated revenue and BigCommerce is posting 32% growth compared to Shopify’s most recent quarter of 97% growth.

The listing’s price-to-sales is very reasonable of 11-12 but once we are in the 30-40 price-to-sales for the opening price, we are confronted with risks as BigCommerce will need to maintain the growth of other popular SaaS products that had competitive growth pre-covid. The question truly becomes “what company do I want at the 30-40 price-to-sales and what companies are worth the risk at the 50 more more price-to-sales?”

IPO frenzies can cause investors to forego rational thinking. I can’t imagine paying a Shopify valuation for a company with 1/3 the growth and 1/20 the revenue. However, there’s a possibility we see it near this valuation tomorrow due to ecommerce being a hot trend. If Bigcommerce shoots up to this level, I will be respectfully on the sidelines. Not because I’m not willing to pay high valuations but because I require above average growth for high valuations.

Conclusion:

BigCommerce is centered in a massive trend yet is not showing as much revenue growth as its competitor, Shopify. Although BigCommerce will certainly open higher than the list price which is at a 12 price-to-sales; how high and if the company is a good value becomes questionable at around the 30 price-to-sales range and even more questionable at the 40 price-to-sales range as the excitement of the IPO would place BigCommerce up against companies that have reported excellent growth for quite a while (rather than one quarter).

We could see BigCommerce accelerate revenue beyond the 32% mark that is being reported after the first full quarter of covid. That’s the gamble – is this quarter and perhaps next quarter an outlier or are they indicative of a more permanent trend and revenue growth trajectory. This is a bigger gamble than Shopify, Zoom Video, and others that had strong growth prior to covid.

The narrowing losses are a major plus. Also, Tiger Global is looking to invest up to 20% because the likelihood of BigCommerce being an acquisition target is high (in my opinion, this is one reason why Tiger Global would take a large stake). It’s easy to think of a few companies that would acquire a $2-$3 billion competitor to Shopify: Amazon, Wal-mart, Facebook, for example. BigCommerce has 60,000 online stores in 120 countries and the fulfillment centers that Amazon and Wal-mart have would be a good match for BigCommerce’s features. Customers include Avery Dennison, Ben & Jerry’s, Burrow, SC Johnson, SkullCandy, Sony, and Woolrich.

We will try to enter up to 30 price-to-sales but may need to back off beyond this and feel that 40 price-to-sales is the cutoff for our portfolio. If the stock trades between 30 to 40, it’ll be up to Knox’s discretion and he will post this in the Buys chat room on the forum.

Ecommerce is hot right now and the market has shown some irrational behavior in other hot trends. We are okay trying to capitalize on hot trends but we prefer to have more consistent growth than one outlier quarter as part of our thesis. We also think the growth should be higher than 32% given the effects of the pandemic. In this case, it’s not worth the 48 price-to-sales ratio that Shopify is trading at but we will see what the (sometimes irrational) market decides tomorrow.

Posted in Consumer, E-Commerce, Fundamental AnalysisLeave a Comment on BigCommerce IPO

Advertising Stocks Face New, Major Challenge With Apple’s iOS 14

Posted on August 3, 2020June 30, 2026 by io-fund
Advertising Stocks Face New, Major Challenge With Apple’s iOS 14

This article was originally published on Forbes on Jul 27, 2020,11:44pm EDTForbes on Jul 27, 2020,11:44pm EDT

This earnings season promises to be a wild ride across the tech sector as initial impact from the coronavirus will be reported while a few outliers will seem impervious. Ad-tech stocks are especially vulnerable to other sectors with Google expected to have its first decline year-over-year in company history. Facebook boycotts that came late in June could affect future quarters. We’ve seen Twitter report 23% lower revenue and entertain new methods of monetization. However, these well-known risks will be rivaled if not exceeded by the effects of the lesser-known announcement from Apple last month in regards to the required opt-in for the ID for Advertisers (IDFA).

The IDFA is a number tied to the device that allows ad exchanges to track user interactions and behavior. The primary function is very similar to cookies in that it helps ad companies store data profiles and preferences for personalized messaging, regardless of which device you are logged into. In addition to targeting, the IDFA also helps with attribution and measurement.

If you’ve never heard of the IDFA or are not aware that a number is assigned to your iOS device to help track you, it’s because this has been opt-out in the past and been hidden inconspicuously in your Settings. In the upcoming release of iOS 14 in September, Apple will make this an opt-in for every single application. This means a message will appear for every application using a mobile device ID asking for permission.

Apple

Pictured above:Apple will require opt-in permission to track for displaying targeted ads, sharing device location, sharing a list of emails, ad IDs or other IDs used to retarget and/or placing a third-party SDK in the app that combines user data from your app with user data to target advertising. See the full list here on Developer.Apple.ComPictured above:Apple will require opt-in permission to track for displaying targeted ads, sharing device location, sharing a list of emails, ad IDs or other IDs used to retarget and/or placing a third-party SDK in the app that combines user data from your app with user data to target advertising. See the full list here on Developer.Apple.Com

Below, I go over the background that led to Apple’s decision and the public companies this might affect. As noted below, this should affect companies who offer mobile targeting, such as Google, Facebook, Twitter/MoPub and The Trade Desk. In the interim, it could also affect any applications that use aggressive growth tactics. This list is harder to identify, but Uber and Lyft, for example, are known for spending heavily on user acquisition to drive installs.

For instance, Snap beat on revenue recently yet some of this beat came from direct response ads, such as TikTok driving user acquisition on mobile. In this case, there will be less information about who is taking an action if Snap users do not opt-in on the warning screen. Twitter, as well, pointed towards direct response ads holding up revenue during the pandemic while brand ads have weakened. Yet again, direct response has a new and very serious obstacle.

The silence on this topic from financial analysts on Twitter’s earnings call when many ad-tech companies including two of the world’s most valuable companies rely on the IDFA for a sizable chunk of revenue is odd to say the least. AppsFlyer places mobile app install spend at $80 billion in 2020 and estimates this will reach $118 billion by 2022. This is compared to the total mobile advertising industry worth $241 billion in 2019 and $368 billion in 2022.

The changes will not take effect until September with most devices running the iOS update by October, so no financial impact will be seen until Q4. However, if brand ad spend remains low from the pandemic, and direct response campaigns will now be blind due to an aggressive move against mobile ad targeting, then investors should expect a significant shift in the ad industry by the latter part of the year.

I first covered this in October for MarketWatch with the article, “Governments can’t stop Google and Facebook but Apple can.” The changes to the IDFA are being done under a privacy guise, however, it could be an attempt for Apple to reclaim valuable revenue streams from its ecosystem as iPhone penetration is maxed out. How this would work is not evident right now but its unlikely that a $118 billion market in iOS app install spend has gone unnoticed.

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Apple and its operating system is the most important governor in the mobile industry with two-thirds of mobile acquisition spend compared to Android’s one-third. If Apple is playing the long-game on reclaiming iOS attribution and measurement to generate revenue, then Google, Facebook, Twitter, Snap and The Trade Desk have plenty to worry about as Apple can undeniably claim this turf. 

Background on Apple’s Stance

Apple rarely markets at tech events outside of its own conferences, such as the Worldwide Developers Conference held annually in June. A very rare exception to this policy was made at CES 2019 in Las Vegas when large billboards hung outside the entrance stating, “What happens on your iPhone, stays on your iPhone.”

This was a nod towards Facebook, who Tim Cook has publicly criticized, with its software development kit “Audience Network” installed in 300,000 applications on iOS and Android combined and has seen nearly 200 billion downloads. Google’s AdMob is even worse with installation in 1.5 million applications and 375 billion downloads. (Now consider that users did not authorize or download this software on purpose!)

BETH KINDIG

Photo from CES 2019: Source Beth KindigBeth Kindig

The advertisement was a bold and clear statement on Apple’s stance. Yet, anyone in ad-tech could tell you that what happens on the iPhone most certainly does not stay on the iPhone. Mobile has become a free-for-all in data collection over the past ten years. The device leaks volumes of information through software development kits (SDKs) installed inside every application. Most applications have 18 SDKs, which extends beyond Facebook and Google to include a mix and match of ad software companies although the most pervasive being Google and Facebook who are inside the far majority due to the depth of their data for cross-targeting.

We’ve seen Congress attempt to understand Facebook’s business model (which is not simply social media – you can view my past coverage here around Cambridge Analytica, the Q2 2018 earnings miss, and why free cash flow isn’t enough), we’ve seen the European Union blast anti-trust fines of up to $5 billion and also enforce the General Data Privacy Regulations for their citizens (you can view my previous coverage on this here). These efforts have proven futile software remains pervasive across applications. The conclusion in my October analysis is that privacy depends on an equal and opposite force, and there is only one who remains advertising-free who can possibly take on this challenge, which is Apple.

The concept of Apple pioneering privacy at the client level is not new. Apple began to restrict tracking on the Safari browser through iterations of Intelligent Tracking Prevention (ITP) from 2017 to 2019. As I covered previously in depth, Apple implemented strict requirements, such as having a relationship with the customer within the last 24 hours to place a cookie, and companies have continued to find loop holes.

Unlike cookies on the web, where there is a tag on the browser, mobile identifiers have much stronger tracking capabilities. Apple’s IDFA enables the following: user tracking, marketing measurement, attribution, ad targeting, ad monetization, programmatic advertising including DSPs, SSPs and exchanges, device graphs, retargeting of individuals and audiences.

What investors may not realize is these advertising cash machines are largely dependent on tracking software for the high CPMS (cost per thousand views) and CPIs (cost per install) they charge because they can track actions on a granular level even days after a mobile user has seen an advertisement. The mobile users are not aware they are being tracked by many companies they do not have a first-party relationship with (but the developer or publisher does). These developers and publishers must now obtain permission. Without permission, the inventory on mobile becomes less valuable.

Mobile applications, such as Spotify, Uber, Lyft, and mobile gaming, for example, are also dependent on the ability to track and identify cohorts for user acquisition. This is one reason we see the top line grow rapidly in ridesharing at the expense of the bottom line; these companies are crunching customer acquisition costs and lifetime value (LTV) across specific demographics and then using lookalike modeling to target the demographics with the best LTV.

The ad exchanges who deliver this are paid a handsome premium. Google and Facebook can clearly deliver this as they sit on mountains of data but there are others who use unique identifiers in a similar purpose to target and track across multiple devices, such as The Trade Desk with a unique identifier that will likely come under this restriction: “Sharing a list of emails, advertising IDs, or other IDs with a third-party advertising network that uses that information to retarget those users in other developers’ apps or to find similar users.”

Twitter/MoPub will also be affected as MoPub’s software is inside over 60,000 apps across both iOS and Android. Snap will be to some degree as direct response is critical to the company’s revenue.

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The opt-in changes to Apple’s IDFA are impossible to quantify but independent mobile analysts, such as Eric Seufert, have called this an apocalypse with opt-in rates likely to hit 0-20% with an article stating that “deterministic, user-level app attribution will cease to exist once [Apple’s] SKADNetwork adoption reaches critical mass.”

Some of this will rely on Google following Apple on opt-in tracking, which did occur in January of this year with the browser restrictions. Notably, iOS sees double the revenue as Android with App Annie reporting $15 billion was spent on iOS in Q1, or $60 billion at an annual revenue run rate, compared to Android’s $8.3 billion in Q1.

More on SKAdNetwork

The new privacy framework from Apple is called the SKADNetwork. Apple’s SKADNetwork API was first introduced in 2018. The concept was to rely on an API to attribute installs rather than the IDFA. Instead, app publishers will receive aggregated, anonymized data from Apple to track the install directly, such as the ad network ID and campaign ID and publisher name.

DEVELOPER.APPLE.COM

Apple’s SKADNetwork API represents a new data flow for measuring ad campaigns. Source:Developer.Apple.comDeveloper.Apple.com

As AdExchanger points out, what’s missing will be impressions, creative, remarketing, in-app events, lookback windows, user lifetime value, ROI, retention [and] cohort analysis. Oren Kaniel, CEO of mobile attribution company AppsFlyer says “advertisers will be practically blind.”

There will not be any personally identifiable information or device IDs passed along because the iOS operating system will send the postback rather than the application. This is important for privacy because specific installs will not be attributed to device IDs or personally identifiable information. This also removes the need for mobile measurement partners (MMPs) for campaign performance as they are now redundant (in their current state) with Apple now the arbiter of analytics. Notably, MMPs may evolve to help advertisers sort the attribution data they are receiving in Apple’s new data flow.

Conclusion:

Apple is requiring users to opt-in on every application for the IDFA under the guise of privacy. In 2018, Tim Cook was referencing Facebook when he said, “We shouldn’t sugarcoat the consequences. This is surveillance and these stockpiles of data serve only to make rich the companies that collect them. This should make us uncomfortable.”

Privacy in this age of “data everywhere” is a valiant mission, yet there could be more to Apple’s decision as the company has built a very cash efficient ecosystem with many companies profiting from the $100 billion+ industry of mobile app installs.

There is clear evidence as to the importance of direct response in this quarter’s earnings calls thus far, yet mention of the IDFA has been absent from analyst questions despite being one of the biggest threats the mobile ad industry has ever faced. There is a major disconnect between the first few earnings calls in ad-tech talking up the strength of direct response ads and how people who work daily in the mobile ad industry view the IDFA being deprecated. John Koetsier, a journalist and consultant for Singular who covers this space extensively, believes this is a “huge problem for a massive industry.”

This is a problem for the ad industry because it goes well beyond personal sentiments and niceties around privacy and slow-moving government regulations and pits tech giant against tech giant in the black box world of ad software, user tracking and engineered loop holes. There is little question who will win as Apple goes up against Google, Facebook and many others. After all, it’s Apple’s device, Apple’s operating system and Apple’s app store. The only question is why this hasn’t happened sooner.

Posted in Digital Ads, Tech StocksLeave a Comment on Advertising Stocks Face New, Major Challenge With Apple’s iOS 14

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