US Big Tech

BananaHunter wrote: ↑ US still remains the economic power house of the world. Most large companies have come from US and it continues to be so. Market capitalization is not necessarily a measure of the company's performance. It could just mean lots of people buying it, spiking up the total pool.

I personally don't think US companies have cheap valuations. It's for the simple fact that there are so many people eyeing to buy US tech firms. Just look at Tesla. It's on the news all the time and people always looking to own a piece of the excitement. High visibility leads to higher demand for the stock and hence a high price. Sure...you can try to time it and win on the swings. But I'd rather invest in safer, proven businesses.

Just my 2 cents. Ignore me lol. I'm a boring guy who focuses on proven companies that pay steady dividends with low PE ratios. I'll probably never own any of these big name US companies. My portfolio just rises steadily and slowly and I'm fine with that.

Gingercookie wrote: ↑ Biggest publicly traded stocks' market caps as of March 11, 2022, Aramco excluded because of the small float. Basically all US companies and one Taiwanese company. Almost all tech except for Berkshire and UnitedHealth.

1 Apple $2.525 T USA

2 Microsoft $2.099 T USA

3 Alphabet (Google) $1.723 T USA

4 Amazon $1.480 T USA

5 Tesla $822.00 B USA

6 Berkshire Hathaway $722.62 B USA

7 NVIDIA $550.73 B USA

8 Meta (Facebook) $536.37 B USA

9 TSMC $525.89 B Taiwan

10 UnitedHealth $454.33 B USA

BananaHunter wrote: ↑ Well you have a point...some of the listed companies are very proven. Even F or GE can be affected steeply by market trends and global supply chain issues. But at least their longevity, experience, and brand reputation will most likely help them weather the storms better than a newer company. A company like Meta for example I would not invest in. It's still relatively new. Pays pitiful dividends. And most of the listed companies pay pitiful dividends. there are local Canadian businesses that pay decent dividends, have history of stable operations, and have been around for a while. Apple pays what? not even 1% dividend. So if one buys, it's for the growth potential.

I don't want to buy US tech stocks at all when I have Canadian blue chip stocks. And it's not like I'm so rich that I need to diversify into the US...yet. Maybe when I hit $1M then I take some US positions. Then i think about it. Tech stocks are so swingy. Elon Musk can say something and suddenly something will spike up or down. It's almost like gambling. Not my cup of tea. Yes I'm a boring person lol.

craftsman wrote: ↑ The big issue with tech, in general, is that they lived by the sword and may die by the same sword - disruption of their industry. While it might seem unthinkable that it could happen, it's been happening all of the time in the era of tech. Just look at browsers, social media, and other product light but service heavy industries where previous companies had a 'lock' on the segment only to be displaced relatively quickly by the next iteration - Facebook did it to mySpace, Google Search did it to AltaVista... Nothing says that it can't happen with the current set of champions.

This is what Cathie is betting on - some new upstart that she invested in will take out one of the big current champions. It's a similar bet that most small/microcap funds do - ie invest in 100 promising small/micro cap companies knowing that most will fail and be worthless in a few years but a handful (maybe 10% or less) will make it big.

While big tech isn't really cyclical in terms of economic cycles, it might be in terms of innovational cycles which is why companies like FB are pouring money into what they hope is the next big thing.... unfortunately, for the likes of these mega-caps tech stocks, they have about the same odds of riding the next innovation wave as some upstart building the next wave in their basement or garage - ie Apple vs IBM, FB over mySpace, Telsa over the auto OEMs.

Gingercookie wrote: ↑ Top ten stock exchanges by market cap (total market value of all stocks in that market) as of March 2nd. US markets lead the way and is 56% of the top ten total market value USD. Canada is in 9th place. Where is Europe?

1 New York Stock Exchange. $27.69T. USA
2 Nasdaq Stock Exchange. $22.46T USA
3 Shanghai Stock Exchange. $7.57T. China
4 Tokyo Stock Exchange. $6.20T. Japan
5 Shenzhen Stock Exchange. $5.62T. China
6 Hong Kong Stock Exchange. $5.4T. Hong Kong
7 London Stock Exchange. $3.57T. UK
8 India Stock Exchange. $3.52T. India
9 Toronto Stock Exchange. $3.23T. Canada
10Saudi Stock Exchange. $2.83T. S. Arabia
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Total of top ten $88.09T

Gingercookie wrote: ↑ Top ten stock exchanges by market cap (total market value of all stocks in that market) as of March 2nd. US markets lead the way and is 56% of the top ten total market value USD. Canada is in 9th place. Where is Europe?

1 New York Stock Exchange. $27.69T. USA
2 Nasdaq Stock Exchange. $22.46T USA
3 Shanghai Stock Exchange. $7.57T. China
4 Tokyo Stock Exchange. $6.20T. Japan
5 Shenzhen Stock Exchange. $5.62T. China
6 Hong Kong Stock Exchange. $5.4T. Hong Kong
7 London Stock Exchange. $3.57T. UK
8 India Stock Exchange. $3.52T. India
9 Toronto Stock Exchange. $3.23T. Canada
10Saudi Stock Exchange. $2.83T. S. Arabia
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Total of top ten $88.09T

xgbsSS wrote: ↑ I agree. While we are starting to get established players with dominance, a large amount of the value derived in these market caps are investors betting them up. Many of the names lag in profitability. Tesla while marginally profitable, barely makes money on their cars. Toyota makes 10-12x the amount of money, yet Tesla is worth twice the market cap of Toyota. Sure Toyota could definitely lose market share, but we are then to assume that Toyota, Volkswagen and other established car makers are just going to let Tesla take away the market when these companies sits on tens of billions of dollars in cash alone? Market exuberance has bet up names in technology before anything could get established. And while I do believe Tesla will be a major player in the future, profitability is still lagging and established players are moving quickly to fill in the gap. Tesla for all we know could be a bit player in the long run. The rest of them like Peloton are merely jokes.

I think we will see the beginning of more focus back to value in the short to mid term. Profitable, established names that are steadily profitable and their importance without a doubt vital to our lives. The Ukraine crisis has shown we are still dependent on oil, wheat and other commodities. A Russian instagrammer might pout about not having her Lipton tea or make cash on her uploads, but the wheat for her bread and the natural gas for our homes is absolutely vital. And for some reason, these industries valuations were nothing because of them being boring.

And while I do agree with the big risk of innovation outpacing others, information management and ownership is very vital and cannot be easily replicated. I don't think Google or Apple are as much a danger than say Meta.

will888 wrote: ↑ That is a low blow to the EU. Most would continue associate UK to Europe even though there is no land connection and they have left the EU. Maybe Canada should consider adopting a 11th province under the right terms. Reverse colonialism.

Gingercookie wrote: ↑ US in bear market territory. As of July 20th, US companies still hold the top ten slots in terms of market value. Six in tech (consumer hardware, enterprise software, internet, social media, e-commerce, advertising, cloud, EV), two healthcare, and two financials. Five pay dividends.

1 Apple $2.483 T USA

2 Microsoft. $1.973 T USA

3 Alphabet $1.520 T USA

4 Amazon $1.253 T USA

5 Tesla. $773.02 B USA

6 Berkshire Hathaway $630.59 B USA

7 Meta Platforms $492.95 B USA

8 UnitedHealth $487.37 B USA

9 Johnson & Johnson. $452.23 B USA

10 Visa $451.79 B USA