The Information

DoorDash signs outside the New York Stock Exchange at the time of its IPO in December. Photo by Bloomberg.

Why DoorDash Stock Is Too Pricey and Uber Too Cheap

By Ross Matican · Feb 15, 2021 6:00am PST · 14 comments

Here’s a stock market puzzle. Since DoorDash went public in early December at a higher than expected value for the food-delivery service, Uber’s stock has risen 13%. Investors realize that the premium put on DoorDash implies that Uber’s food-delivery business, UberEats, is also now worth more. But if you value UberEats based on... Here’s a stock market puzzle. Since DoorDash went public in early December at a higher than...

Illustration by Mike Sullivan

Why Snowflake Stock Needs to Come Down to Earth

By Ross Matican · Jan 11, 2021 9:01am PST · 6 comments

Snowflake shares have floated a little closer to earth over the past month since the high-flying enterprise software stock hit a high of $390, valuing it at nearly as much as computing pioneer IBM. But even at their recent price of around $300, Snowflake shares are still trading at a valuation that can only be described as bubble-like. The stock... Snowflake shares have floated a little closer to earth over the past month since the high-flying...

Why Rally in Snap and Pinterest Stocks May Last

By Tom Dotan · Nov 3, 2020 10:20am PST

Snap and Pinterest posted stellar revenue growth for the third quarter, sending their stocks to record highs and putting their valuations well above those of social media peers Facebook and Twitter. Whether they can maintain those valuations, however, depends on whether their recent advertising gains are sustained. Media buyers and advertisers... Snap and Pinterest posted stellar revenue growth for the third quarter, sending their stocks to...

What Opening Day for Asana and Palantir Says About Private Tech Stock Values

By Ross Matican and Martin Peers · Oct 1, 2020 6:01am PDT · 2 comments

What Opening Day for Asana and Palantir Says About Private Tech Stock Values

By Ross Matican and Martin Peers · Oct 1, 2020 6:01am PDT · 2 comments

The secondary market for private tech stocks is becoming a better indicator of how the public market will value those stocks, Wall Street executives say. Wednesday’s public debuts of Asana and Palantir seemed to bear that out. The stocks of both companies, which went public via direct listings, opened at about the same level as their... The secondary market for private tech stocks is becoming a better indicator of how the public...

From left: Snowflake's Frank Slootman, Palantir's Alexander Karp and Asana's Dustin Moskovitz. Photos by Snowflake, Bloomberg and Julie Mikos.

Five New Software Stocks: Why Investors Love Some and Hate Others

By Ross Matican · Sep 15, 2020 6:02am PDT · 2 comments

Five enterprise software companies are going public this month, cashing in on the sector’s enormous popularity with investors. But while investors love some of the companies, such as Snowflake, giving it a valuation of nearly 100 times’ last year’s revenue, they hate others. Sumo Logic, for instance, may get a valuation of just... Five enterprise software companies are going public this month, cashing in on the sector’s...

Airbnb’s headquarters in San Francisco. Photo: Airbnb

Why Airbnb’s IPO Should Clear $30 Billion

By Cory Weinberg · Aug 26, 2020 7:02am PDT

Nothing would better epitomize the stock market’s strange surge in 2020 than a blockbuster initial public offering from a travel company whose business was bludgeoned by the pandemic. But that is exactly what looks likely for Airbnb. The Silicon Valley darling is a good bet to secure at least a $30 billion valuation when it goes... Nothing would better epitomize the stock market’s strange surge in 2020 than a blockbuster...

ByteDance founder Zhang Yiming. Photo by Bloomberg

Microsoft’s Talks to Buy TikTok Follow Headwinds for Investor Plan

By Jessica E. Lessin and Ross Matican · Jul 31, 2020 1:06pm PDT · 4 comments

Microsoft is in serious talks to acquire TikTok, the hugely popular Chinese-owned video app, The Information has confirmed, after separate talks for a U.S. investor group to buy the app ran into headwinds on both political and business grounds.Senior ByteDance executives see Microsoft as more able to afford Tiktok, which could be worth $30... Microsoft is in serious talks to acquire TikTok, the hugely popular Chinese-owned video app, The...

Zoom Video CEO Eric Yuan. Photo by Bloomberg

Why Zoom Video’s Sky-High Stock Will Fall to Earth When Pandemic Ends

By Kevin Dugan and Martin Peers · Mar 27, 2020 1:54pm PDT · 6 comments

Zoom Video CEO Eric Yuan. Photo by Bloomberg

Why Zoom Video’s Sky-High Stock Will Fall to Earth When Pandemic Ends

By Kevin Dugan and Martin Peers · Mar 27, 2020 1:54pm PDT · 6 comments

No matter how the pandemic ends, one thing is certain: Zoom Video has become a household name as people flock to it to connect with work colleagues, family and friends. That has helped send Zoom stock into the stratosphere—it is up 46% in the past five weeks even as the overall market has fallen 25%. But like the pandemic itself, this... No matter how the pandemic ends, one thing is certain: Zoom Video has become a household name as...

The ride-hailing firms' logos on a car. Photo by Shutterstock

Virus Lockdowns Pose Serious Threat to Lyft, Uber

By Amir Efrati · Mar 16, 2020 7:17pm PDT · 4 comments

There’s little doubt that the coronavirus crisis will eventually subside. But it’s not as certain that the two major ride-hailing giants will survive the pandemic in their current form—particularly if it persists for more than a couple of months.Stock traders seem to think that Lyft, in particular, faces the biggest question... There’s little doubt that the coronavirus crisis will eventually subside. But it’s...

Workers at a Beijing restaurant packing takeout orders on Sunday. Photo by AP

The Long and the Short of the Coronavirus’s Impact on Companies

By The Information Staff · Mar 1, 2020 12:02pm PST · 5 comments

The U.S. stock market just had its worst week since the 2008 financial crisis, triggered by the coronavirus. Out of the carnage, there may still be opportunities for investors.The market has recognized a few potential winners, most obviously biotech stocks working on vaccines and companies that enable people to work from home, such as... The U.S. stock market just had its worst week since the 2008 financial crisis, triggered by the...

Art by Mike Sullivan

What I Learned From My Mother-in-Law’s Cable Bill—and Trying YouTube TV

By Martin Peers · Feb 19, 2020 10:00am PST · 10 comments

It may be hard to believe, but Comcast still charges its cable TV subscribers a $9.95 monthly fee for high-definition TV—the 20-year-old technology that is standard in video-streaming services (and in TV sets). It’s one of a number of fees—also including a $12.60 fee for the right to watch free broadcast networks like CBS and... It may be hard to believe, but Comcast still charges its cable TV subscribers a $9.95 monthly fee...

Why Snap Does Not Equal Twitter

By Alex Heath · Feb 4, 2020 7:01am PST

Why Snap Does Not Equal Twitter

By Alex Heath · Feb 4, 2020 7:01am PST

This year Twitter is expected to make 13 times as much profit as Snap. And yet right now, each company is trading on the stock market at roughly the same market capitalization: $25.5 billion. Investors are either overenthusiastic about Snap’s prospects—or too pessimistic about Twitter’s (or possibly both).The market may have it... This year Twitter is expected to make 13 times as much profit as Snap. And yet right now, each...

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi. Photo by Bloomberg

Why Uber’s Stock Rally Doesn’t Make Sense

By Amir Efrati and Martin Peers · Jan 22, 2020 7:02am PST · 9 comments

Uber proved countless doubters wrong by showing, when it reported its third-quarter results last fall, that its ride-hailing business can make money. And as investors await the fourth-quarter numbers scheduled to be released Feb. 6, they’ve sent the stock soaring. It’s as though they think the worst is over for the ride-hailing... Uber proved countless doubters wrong by showing, when it reported its third-quarter results last...

Netflix’s Asia Growth Challenge: Trading Price for Volume

By Wayne Ma · Jan 15, 2020 12:52pm PST · 1 comment

Netflix’s stock rises and falls on subscriber growth, which has come to a halt in the U.S. But subscribers are still growing strong internationally, reaching 158 million subscribers at the end of September. Its executives have laid out a case to investors that the next 100 million subscribers could come from places like India and Southeast... Netflix’s stock rises and falls on subscriber growth, which has come to a halt in the U.S....

WeWork's former CEO Adam Neumann. Photo by Bloomberg

Why Tech ‘Run Rates’ Should Raise Eyebrows

By Nick Wingfield · Jan 7, 2020 7:01am PST · 8 comments

When We Co.—the parent of WeWork—filed to go public last fall, its financial disclosures showed the company had “run rate revenue” of $2.4 billion as of Dec. 31 2018. But in a different spot in the IPO filing, WeWork reported its actual 2018 revenue as $1.8 billion—25% lower. Run rate revenue has joined a host... When We Co.—the parent of WeWork—filed to go public last fall, its financial...

Apple CEO Tim Cook. Photo by Bloomberg

Why Apple Shouldn’t Buy an Entertainment Company

By Martin Peers · Nov 26, 2019 7:01am PST

Apple CEO Tim Cook. Photo by Bloomberg

Why Apple Shouldn’t Buy an Entertainment Company

By Martin Peers · Nov 26, 2019 7:01am PST

Film producer Jason Blum last week declared that tech companies wanting to get into streaming, like Apple, should buy a film studio. That would yield a “bigger audience for less money.” Apple has reportedly pondered buying a company like Time Warner in the past. It’s likely not the only tech company to have considered such a... Film producer Jason Blum last week declared that tech companies wanting to get into streaming,...

Vice CEO Nancy Dubuc. Photo by Bloomberg

The New Norm for Digital Media Valuations

By Tom Dotan · Oct 11, 2019 7:00am PDT · 3 comments

The consolidation of the digital media industry is well and truly underway, with Refinery29, New York Media and PopSugar each being swallowed up in the past few weeks. Those deals have highlighted how much valuations have come down from the highs of recent years—with implications for the companies that remain.Potentially most affected is... The consolidation of the digital media industry is well and truly underway, with Refinery29, New...

Why WeWork Needs Cash Fast

By Cory Weinberg · Sep 23, 2019 12:04pm PDT · 1 comment

As WeWork’s board wrestles with the company’s future, the options on the table are shrinking. The cash that WeWork’s parent company We Co. has to spend freely would dwindle from about $1.9 billion to $400 million by next March if it doesn’t raise new outside funds and keeps spending at a similar pace, according to an... As WeWork’s board wrestles with the company’s future, the options on the table are...

AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson. Photo by Bloomberg

How Streaming Math Could Hurt AT&T

By Martin Peers · Sep 9, 2019 2:03pm PDT · 5 comments

Activist investor Elliott Associates, which on Monday said it had bought a stake in AT&T, homed in on the flaws in the telecom giant’s growth strategy of recent years: It spent a total of $163 billion buying DirecTV and Time Warner just as cord-cutting was starting to eat away at the foundations of those companies’ businesses.... Activist investor Elliott Associates, which on Monday said it had bought a stake in AT&T,...

Cast members of Netflix 's Stranger Things at a screening in France last month. Photo by AP.

Netflix’s Hit Addiction Makes Stock Pricey

By Martin Peers · Aug 12, 2019 7:01am PDT · 2 comments

Cast members of Netflix 's Stranger Things at a screening in France last month. Photo by AP.

Netflix’s Hit Addiction Makes Stock Pricey

By Martin Peers · Aug 12, 2019 7:01am PDT · 2 comments

Subscription software stocks like Zoom Video and Atlassian have been one of the hottest tech sectors on Wall Street in the past couple of years, thanks in part to their reliably recurring revenue. Investors love the predictability of subscription businesses.But that predictability disappears when subscriber growth is driven by hit products as... Subscription software stocks like Zoom Video and Atlassian have been one of the hottest tech...