Thread by @mims, Amazing to me the degree to which current economic devastation will probably [...]

Christopher Mims

mims

Amazing to me the degree to which current economic devastation will probably make America's 5 biggest companies -- all of them tech companies -- bigger than ever.

Depending on your view, this is either

(thread)

First thing to understand about the Big 5 (Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Alphabet, Microsoft -- aka Faaam) is, holy cow, that is a lot of cash they are sitting on.

These five companies have more cash than many sovereign wealth funds

Second thing to understand about Big 5 tech companies is every one of them said in their last earnings call they're committed to continuing to spend on R&D, hiring engineers, etc., whatever comes in 2020. Even if their revenues are dented, they certainly have the $$ to do it!

Just look at the history of R&D spending at the Big 5 tech companies over the past decade. Yowza.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/not-even-a-pandemic-can-slow-down-the-biggest-tech-giants-11590206412

Recall that investment in R&D is at the heart of the "flywheels" that drive the ongoing growth and success of any big company, but especially the Big 5 tech companies.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/why-do-the-biggest-companies-keep-getting-bigger-its-how-they-spend-on-tech-1532610001

The markets "know" this of course, this is why the Big 5 tech companies are the one "sure bet" in a time when the markets are otherwise cratering

https://www.wsj.com/articles/not-even-a-pandemic-can-slow-down-the-biggest-tech-giants-11590206412

In my view there is, frankly, no end in sight to the continued growth of the Big 5 tech companies. That doesn't mean they will grow forever, just that, having established a new technological ecosystem which they dominate, they're likely to stay on top for a long time yet. (fin)

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