When he wondered whether or not he should sell some of his stock options before they expire this quarter, Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla Inc., sought an answer from the most powerful communications platform on Earth.
That’s right, Musk polled his more than 60 million followers on Twitter.
After the poll showed a clear 58% to 42% of Musk’s followers favored selling, shares of Tesla fell 5% on November 8.
But while the media was focused on Tesla’s action, they ignored a much larger story.
The fact is, despite its popularity, and despite dramatic episodes like this one, Twitter remains a lousy investment. It’s been dead money all year. By contrast, the S&P 500 is up more than 25%.
That’s why today I want to show you a backend way to gain from Twitter’s huge user base as well as the entire social media sector.
We are full into what I call the Digital Renaissance.
We looked at one aspect of it back on October 8, when I recommended a tech leader that offers us a great play on the boom in entrepreneurship.
I mentioned that last year, we had 4.4 million new firms created largely as a result of all the shutdowns. And of course, it was all possible thanks to a huge selection of new tech tools.
Today, I want to talk to you about the flip side of that coin.
Digital tools haven’t just been helping businesses get started. They’ve also been a boon to independent creators – like artists, bloggers, musicians, social influencers, writers, even teachers, and financial advisors posting their works online.
Make no mistake. This is a massive trend. Experts say some 50 million individuals are involved in the field that could have a value of $23.52 billion by the end of 2025, according to a report from Million Insights.
Let me show you a key player in it all that will continue to outperform the market for years….
Facebook is a tragic prospect for a high-tech investor right now. On one hand, it’s a digital juggernaut, and on the other, it’s fallen under intense congressional scrutiny, which has caused its stock price to drop roughly 15%
This scrutiny was based on whistleblower comments around the allegations that the company knew that its Instagram app posed a serious mental health challenge for teenage girls. Not only that but there have also been reports of a slowed rollout of several upcoming products according to the Wall Street Journal.
But with how big the digital advertising space is, and we are talking triple-digit billions, we definitely want to be invested in this industry.
Fortunately, we have the opportunity to invest in a digital ad leader that gives us a broad play on the entire sector and that has crushed Facebook’s returns over the last five years by a whopping 1,317%.
Unlike Facebook, it’s a company that is in no way mired in controversy. In fact, most investors have never even heard of it despite top-tier management and excellent operations.
This digital ad firm has actually grown enough in just five years to have turned a stake of $25,000 into $588,500, with gains of no less than 2,254%.
While this one example of growth may be in the past, the basic idea still applies to the future.
Today, let me show you why this is a better investment than Facebook and how it will double two more times in less than three years…
Cable TV viewership has been slowing for years and it’s no surprise given the growth of over-the-top video services. Netflix has over 200 million subscribers and Roku and Hulu add in almost another 100 million. Now, I get there is overlap between these services, but it just goes to show how viewership has changed.
Hey, everyone, welcome back. I’m Alex Kagin, part of the research team at Strategic Tech Investor. Before joining the tech team, I spent almost a decade doing research for hedge funds, and part of the work I did was tracking online media spend and what platforms were gaining market share.
This research led me to a deeper understanding of streaming content and how it gets monetized. Simply put there are two ways. You can go the route of Netflix, where you pay a monthly fee and get an ad-free TV and movie service, or Hulu, where you can subscribe for a cheaper rate and watch content with commercials.
The legal case against Facebook Inc. (FB) is gaining steam, and demonstrating just what a huge deal, and an opportunity, the social media sector is right now.
At this point, we now have the federal government and 46 states seeking to have the world’s most successful social network break itself up.
The idea is to have the Silicon Valley giant with 2.3 billion active monthly users divest itself of the wildly popular apps Instagram and WhatsApp.
To make that happen, though, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the states must meet the high standard of clearly proving that Facebook acted illegally.
Here’s the thing, though; As tech investors, we don’t have to decide who’s right or wrong, or whether that will happen or not.
Our mission is to profit from the social media market that is worth at least $100 billion.
So far, we’ve talked often about the importance of the cloud, big data, e-commerce, and artificial intelligence.
But there’s another very profitable field largely flying under the radar.
And it’s set to notch a historic milestone that’s going to be a massive win for the digital economy, and for investors like us.
Here’s the thing. When most folks think of advertising, the first idea that pops into their heads is Madison Avenue that has dominated TV, radio, and print for decades.
But a new study shows digital ads – those served up online or through handhelds – are about to surpass “old school” marketing.
We’re talking $110 billion in digital ads just for 2020 alone. That’s 51% of the ad industry’s forecast sales of $214.6 billion.
With people spending more time at home, subscriber totals for Disney+, Netflix, and Roku have ballooned by the 10’s of millions, and 80% of U.S. households now have some way to stream videos.
The quality and amount of content is incredible, but there’s something that’s been lacking with the services listed above – the ability to just sit down and channel surf live TV, have live news updates running in the background, and watch your favorite sports as they are being played.
Thankfully, products like Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOGL)’s YouTube TV, DISH Network Corp. (NASDAQ: DISH)’s SlingTV, and Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS)’s Hulu+ Live TV have all helped us unplug from the traditional cable companies that charge an arm for a leg for a bunch of extra channels we don’t want or need.
Streaming services have experienced rapid growth in adoption over the last five years. And while almost 80% of U.S. households have some form of device for streaming video and subscribe to a streaming service, many of them still pay for access to cable.
A big part of this is that sports and news content have been a key driver for cable operators. Most streaming subscription services have chosen to focus only on entertainment offerings.
While traditional TV has suffered at the hands of newer services like Netflix, Hulu, and HBO, some people will never stop watching TV in that fashion.
Sometimes, you just want to sit down and channel surf live TV, turn on the news, or watch sports.
Just like 10 years ago, when I would come home from work and flip on the TV, I do the same today. But I don’t need a cable subscription to watch traditional TV. Many still want this, which is why we’re seeing services pop up from many big companies replicating traditional TV.
Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL) has YouTube TV, DISH Network Corp. (DISH) has SlingTV, and Walt Disney Co. (DIS) has Hulu+ Live TV. This can all happen without plugging in a bulky cable box. All you need is an Internet connection. The best part is you don’t need to be tied to the TV. You can watch on your tablet and phone, on the go, or at home.
COVID-19 has proven what I’ve been seeing for the past decade: the entire economy is the tech economy. You may not think that retailers like Walmart Inc. (WMT) and Target Inc. (TGT) are tech companies, but they have been boosting their revenue this past quarter on the back of multiplying e-commerce sales. It just goes to show that not only do leading tech innovators drive growth in the market, but any company, no matter what they do, can give themselves a much-needed edge by keeping up with the times. Add in the fact that growth investors, largely fueled by tech, have made more money in ten years than value investors have in thirty, and its plain to see that the road to wealth is paved with tech. There are plenty of opportunities approaching in the era of all things digital. Click to watch!
While traditional TV has suffered at the hands of newer services like Netflix, Hulu, and HBO, some people will never stop watching TV in that fashion.