A Dethroned Apple and More Wall Street Porn

How much more air can be let out of the tech balloon? News that Apple has lost its crown as the world’s most valuable company to oil behemoth Saudi Aramco symbolizes just how many investment dollars have fled the tech sector in recent weeks. But Apple’s fall from the top perch doesn’t come close to capturing the full extent of the recent value destruction in tech. After all, Apple stock is down 17.5% for the year to date. That makes it, relatively speaking, one of the best performers in tech.

In contrast, check out all the tech companies whose stocks have fallen in the region of 80% since the beginning of the year. That group includes gaming software firm Unity Software, whose stock plummeted 37% today after it projected a severe slowdown in revenue growth in the second quarter. This isn’t a stock market that forgives such missteps. Coinbase is also in the negative 80% group, having endured a day nearly as bad as Unity due to quarterly earnings showing numbers predictably weakened by the sell-off in cryptocurrencies.