Microsoft, The Dark Horse

The recent quarter results show how Microsoft is getting stronger in the cloud computing space. And it definitely has the potential to come out as a winner, and this has sent its stock to a record high. >>>

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Verizon Rethinking About Buying Yahoo

Last quarter, Verizon confirmed plans of buying out Yahoo’s (Nasdaq: YHOO) core assets for $4.8 billion. Verizon hopes to build an advertising platform akin to Google and Facebook through the integration of its earlier acquired AOL business with Yahoo. But the recently reported massive email hack on Yahoo is causing Verizon some angst. The only thing that is probably keeping it in the game is the improving profits that Yahoo reported during the quarter.

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Netflix Benefits from International Growth

According to a report by Strategy Analytics, consumer spending in the US on video streaming services is expected to grow 22% by $1.19 billion to $6.62 billion. The report further says that the video streaming market is fast approaching saturation in the US as this will be the first time ever that the dollar increase is lower than the previous year’s increase. In 2015, the industry had seen a growth of $1.21 billion over the year. Netflix (Nasdaq: NFLX), however, remains the leading player in the US market with 53% of the subscriptions. Amazon is a distant second with 25% share followed by Hulu at 13%.

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IBM’s Answer to Growth is Elementary – Watson

According to a MarketsandMarkets report, the global artificial intelligence (AI) market is estimated to grow at 53.65% annually from $419.7 million in 2014 to $5.05 billion by 2020. The growth in the industry is attributed to the deployment of AI technologies in retail, finance, and healthcare sectors. IBM (NYSE: IBM) is targeting this high growth market with added focus on Watson through acquisitions and strategic tie-ups.

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Billion Dollar Unicorns: Russian Avito Gearing up to go Public

According to market reports, the global classifieds market is estimated to grow to $47 billion by the year 2020. Russian player Avito is a Billion Dollar Unicorn club member in the industry.

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Billion Dollar Unicorns: Flipkart’s Valuation Bodes Unsteady Future

The entry of Amazon in the Indian e-commerce market has drastically changed the market landscape. Snapdeal’s market share has dropped to 14% from 19%, while Amazon’ market share has increased to 24% from 14%. Flipkart’s market share has dropped from 43% to 37%, and while it still continues to lead the market, its valuation has taken a drastic beating. >>>

Billion Dollar Unicorns: LeSports Cashes in on Niche Video Streaming

According to a report by venture capital firm China eCapital Corp, China’s professional sports industry is estimated to grow to 1.6 trillion yuan (~$242 billion) in annual revenue by 2025, translating to a compounded annual growth rate of 20% from 2016. A major growth factor is expected to be broadcasting rights fees for professional sporting events. LeSports is a leading player and a Billion Dollar Unicorn club member in this industry.

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WebMD Not Ready for a Sale

Earlier this year, the market was abuzz with rumors that the digital health information site WebMD (Nasdaq: WBMD) was out looking for a potential buyer. Analysts were speculating that Walgreens or insurance provider United Health could be ideal suitors. But WebMD has denied such prospects and continues to improve its offerings instead.

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Billion Dollar Unicorns: Real Estate Platform Compass Joins the Club

The number of new Billion Dollar Unicorns has come down drastically in comparison to last year. It is even rarer to find a unicorn in the highly consolidated online real estate industry. Compass is the latest Billion Dollar Unicorn to make this cut with its Big Data-driven real estate platform. >>>

Billion Dollar Unicorns: Online-to-Offline Focus Helps Huimin Enter the Club

According to iResearch Consulting Group, the online-to-offline (O2O) market size is estimated to have grown 38% over the year to RMB 335 billion (~$53.78 billion). The market is expected to grow by over 20% each year through 2018 to be worth RMB 626 billion (~$100.501 billion) in China. China’s Zhongshang Huimin is the latest O2O player to enter the Billion Dollar Unicorn club.

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