Microsoft, Apple, Google, and Amazon are neck and neck these days when it comes to technology and market cap. Out of the four of them, Microsoft looks like the most solid buy, and not just because they’re the only American company aside from J&J to have a AAA credit rating.
Apple is a victim of its own success. The iPhone X will reportedly be discontinued due to it’s unjustifiably large thousand dollar+ price tag and lagging sales. Which is why the gold iPhone X was never introduced and the Product Red iPhone 8 is being promoted instead. Apple has invented nothing impressive after Jobs’ passing. The Apple Watch is a flop with apps being removed including Instagram, Amazon, Google Maps, EBay, Slack, and more, most likely due to a lack of use. Now the flip side to the argument as to why you should invest in AAPL is that Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway is invested in Apple, and as of this writing AAPL is actually their largest holding. Buffett’s reasoning because Apple has a large “moat” meaning that consumer loyalty to the brand is super impressive. But with HomePod completely missing the targets and being a thorough disappointment with an inept Siri and again super high price tag, Apple is pushing the limits on what it can get away with. Maybe the Oracle of Omaha sees something I don’t, but when I want to see the cutting edge in technology I go to the Microsoft Store to test out Hololens, not see another iteration of the iPad Pro which now supports Pencil.
Google is a mixed bag with awesome strengths as well as warning signs it may just be a follower in the industry, and not a good one at that. The strengths of Google are that it still has a monopoly on search, its maps apps (Maps, Waze, Earth) are unrivaled, and it is dominating the classroom with its free online productivity suite of Docs, Sheets, and Slides. Not to mention the fact that YouTube is unrivaled, Google Chrome is unrivaled, and Android is unrivaled when it comes to an iOS alternative. The weaknesses of Google is that they sometimes have no idea what they are doing and fail spectacularly. Google Glass was creepy. Google Plus was lame. Google Nexus went nowhere. And even though Android is breaking record numbers as the world’s most popular OS, Google still clings to their vision of a webpage-centric OS in their flailing ChromeOS. So flailing in fact that they had to suck some energy from Android and make Android apps compatible with ChromeOS.
Amazon is a company I hate with a passion. They abuse their warehouse workers, Jeff Bezos is the richest person on the planet yet he refuses to donate to charity nor conduct interviews except for maybe one by his brother, and this hunger games Amazon is having cities do to impress them for a second headquarters is just messed up and totally fake (Boston is still in the running and they explicitly said they’re offering jack shit with regard to tax breaks). Plus reports are coming in that Whole Foods is being ruined from within: upper management has left, suppliers have left after fees were increased, produce is lagging in quality for the first time, stores are forced to become more centralized and less locally involved, and shelves are deliberately being left empty because of a new system of stocking which may be more efficient but looks awful. Can’t wait for Amazon to fail on this one just like they did with their Fire Phone.
Microsoft is by far the most impressive tech company on this list. Their hardware is top notch, making them safe in an era where companies who make their money on data, like Facebook and Google, are caught in the crosshairs of public perception and backlash. Microsoft’s CEO Satya Nadella is a thoroughly impressive individual who has worked at Microsoft for decades, is humble as well as decisive, and seems to be ready to cut tech that isn’t working for the company while fostering growth and innovation for sectors of the company that have potential or are currently working well. Microsoft Stores are opening up and introducing people to innovative tech straight from the company itself.
In summary I’d say that Microsoft is going to continue to trend upwards, Google’s fate is in their own hands, Apple is not going anywhere better, and Amazon will continue to slide. And when it comes to long term success, I’m more likely to invest in tech companies that do hardware and have a physical presence like their own stores (Microsoft, Apple) than companies who rely totally on reputation (Amazon, Google save for Nest and Pixel).
Submitted April 17, 2018 at 04:56AM by ElectronicGold https://ift.tt/2qAumgQ
