Constellation Research

Microsoft Faces Its Biggest Challenge Despite Its "Social" Standing Microsoft's CEO Satya Nadella’s and Vice Chair and President Brad Smith face their toughest challenge. There was always that belief that so long Microsoft acted like a“good citizen” on social issues they would be immune to anti-trust. That myth has been burst. The FTC has filed a lawsuit and a judge must decide if the case is strong enough to block the $69B deal. The FTC fears Microsoft will not provide titles for other platforms. Other headwinds include 16 countries that will have to approve the mega deal. China will probably block the deal to protect TenCent's position. Tencent also owns 5% of Activision.

The NASDAQ Composite closed out the week with its biggest two-day rally since 2008. CPI numbers hinted that inflation was subsiding and hope sprung that the Fed would take a less severe stance. Should the Fed hiking slow down from 75 basis points to 50 basis points, market watchers remain hopeful and some took advantage of the early signals of slowing inflation.

All Eyes On Digital Giant Earnings With recession headwinds driving lower valuations and earnings uncertainty in high gear, the level of fear remains high. However, in the past week, NASDAQ was up 5.2%. So the big question,will these digital giants hold their gains ahead of earnings season?

Disintermediate or Be Disintermediated On September 15, 2022, Adobe announced the largest acquisition of a private software company and the largest acquisition in Adobe’s history. In a half cash, half stock deal for approximately $20 billion, San Francisco-based Figma would be acquired by San Jose-headquartered Adobe. Adobe is paying a 50 times annualized recurring revenue (“ARR”) multiple for Figma which is expected to surpass $400 million in ARR exiting 2022.

Customers Can Expect Physics-Based And Photo Realistic Digital Twins Today On June 29th, 2022, a venerable digital industrial and one of the leaders in the metaverse, announced a collaboration to create an industrial metaverse. The goal - accelerate the adoption and mainstream use of industrial automation. Siemens and Nvidia...

WWDC Announcements Do Not Disappoint On June 6th, 2022, Apple made some of its most significant announcements in a decade at the World Wide Developer Conference (WWDC). The live, in-person, Apple Park event, showcased the power of having a vertically integrated silicon to software approach and the benefits that over 30 million registered developers across its entire portfolio will enjoy in creating new experiences and outcomes for Apple customers.

The Davos Set Convene For A Broad Set Of Progressive Policies and Positions Over 2,000 official and 4,500 unofficial attendees will descend on the alpine village of Davos for the World Economic Forum's annual meeting. After a two-year hiatus of the annual event, these "elite" leaders from business, academia, politics, and cultural celebrities will convene to discuss key globalist topics such as:

Disney's Performance Shows Strength and Depth Of Portfolio Quality balance sheets, predictable revenues are key to sustaining stock prices during this current market rout. Investors only care about future forecast guidance despite current quarterly performance. While Disney's Q1 2022 showed 23% YoY gains with $1.4 billion in operating profit, guidance has been muted in spite of the near pandemic comparables.

Speed Provides Exponential Advantage Speed has always been a critical success factor in winning wars on the battlefield. You need to move troops faster, reach targets more quickly, and strike with speed and precision. However, what is often not talked about is how the speed with which decisions are made plays a role in claiming victory.

Smaller Enterprises Can Now Affordably Manage And Secure Devices Like Large Enterprises On March 31st, 2022, Apple officially announced general availability of its Business Essentials offering for organizations with up to 500 employees. Business Essentials provides device management features such as setup, on boarding, backup, security, support and updates for devices such as the iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple TV. Varying plan levels are based on number of devices and amount of storage.