Two Apple updates about ATT and China, then, more on Twitter’s cash flow situation, and Elon Musk discovers that freedom is often structural
Apple Earnings, Apple’s New Advertising Slots, Amazon Earnings
Apple and Amazon’s earnings, particularly the color around their advertising, suggests that there is no real replacement for Facebook ads
Google Earnings, YouTube Growth Strategies, Shopify Layoffs and Earnings
Google search continues to be a source of strength, while YouTube’s weakness is likely because of ATT. Meanwhile, Shopify is suffering from mistaken forecasts, even as ATT’s impact becomes clearer.
Zero-COVID and Free Speech
Zero-COVID is possible, but few of us in the West are willing to pay the costs; the exact same reasoning applies to free speech; in both cases China-lite is the worst possible strategy.
Disney Earnings, Disney and Linear TV, Disney+ Ads
Disney’s earnings raise the question as to whether the company is over-investing in streaming; I don’t think so, and I also think ads will help.
Shopify Earnings, Shopify Acquires Deliverr, Shopify and Buy With Prime
Shopify’s earnings were disappointing; worse, they were confusing. The company knows its mission, but needs to clarify its strategy
Amazon Earnings, Amazon’s Costs, Amazon Closes Stores
Amazon messed up its capacity planning and the result was a big loss; CEO Andy Jassy seems focused on scalability above everything else.
Apple Earnings, Apple and Zero-COVID, Apple Pay and the EU
Apple’s earnings were dominated by supply chain issues in China, which are ultimately driven by COVID. Then, the EU gets it right in an antitrust case (for now).
An Interview with Dan Wang about COVID, Chinese Manufacturing, and China’s Response to Ukraine
Dan Wang is a China-based analyst for Gavekal Dragonomics, a global macro research firm based in Hong Kong and Beijing; we discuss Shanghai’s COVID lockdowns, manufacturing and trade, and China’s Response to Ukraine
Shopify’s Evolution
Shopify should build an advertising business to complement Shop Pay and the Shopify Fulfillment Network