Are Apple’s Best Days Over?

The second quarter of the year does not appear to be very bright for several tech giants. After a disappointing performance reported by Alphabet and Microsoft last week, Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) does not seem to be faring any better. During the quarter, Apple announced its first ever revenue drop since 2003.

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Can Microsoft Compete With Amazon In The Cloud?

According to a recent Gartner report, global PC shipments in the first quarter of the year fell 9.6% to 64.8 million units. IDC estimates that number to have fallen 11.5% to 60.6 million units. This is the lowest that the PC shipments have ever been at over the last decade. Recently reported results for Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) are blemished by declining PC sales. But Microsoft is undeterred and continues to improve its offerings to support the mobile-first, cloud-first world. >>>

Alphabet Counting on Cloud and YouTube

After delivering stellar results a quarter ago, Alphabet (Nasdaq: GOOG), formerly known as Google, reported dismal results last week. The market was so disappointed with its performance, that its stock reported the biggest decline in the past three years. But given the company’s continued improvements, this is probably just a tiny blip.

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2016 IPO Prospects: SurveyMonkey Will Likely Wait

According to IBISWorld, the US market research industry experienced a slow but steady annual growth of 0.4% over the past five years to reach $20 billion in 2016. It expects growth to accelerate in the next five years, driven by changes in media consumption and the growing use of social media. SurveyMonkey is an IPO-ready player from the online survey software segment of this industry. >>>

Should Verizon Buy Yahoo?

After multiple failed efforts to resurrect Yahoo (Nasdaq: YHOO), it appears that the company has finally hit absolute bottom. Markets reports continue to be dismal. An eMarketer report estimates that Yahoo will account for 1.5% of the global market for online ads compared with 2.4% share in 2015. As the company continues to flounder through each quarter, the only news that appears to be uplifting the stock is news of its potential acquisition.

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Netflix Faces Formidable Amazon

Video streaming service provider Netflix (Nasdaq: NFLX) continues to be failing at adding subscribers at the rate that the market will like it to. Not only has international expansion failed to meet market expectations, but the domestic market is also facing severe headwind as Amazon continues to play a bigger role in the streaming market.

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2016 IPO Prospects: Skyscanner Bootstraps First from Scotland, Raises Money Later from Sequoia

According to the AAA, nearly 180 million people visited online travel sites per month in 2015, recording a 27% growth over the year. Researchers believe that most of the online growth in the coming years will be driven from Italy, Spain, Germany, Mexico, China, the United Arab Emirates, Brazil, Norway, and India as the markets of Europe and the US have matured. >>>

2016 IPO Prospects: Qualtrics Bootstrapped First, Raised Money Later

According to an IBISWorld research report, the US market research market is estimated to be a $20 billion industry this year, having reported a modest 0.4% annual growth since 2011. The future of the industry is expected to be driven by the growing use of social media that will revolutionize traditional methods of conducting market research.

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Billion Dollar Unicorns: ShopClues Joins the Club

According to Morgan Stanley, by the year 2020 the total Indian Internet market is expected to reach $159 billion while the e-commerce market is expected to reach $119 billion. About $6.6 billion funds were pumped into the market in 2015, an increase of 50% over 2014. While Flipkart and Snapdeal hold 45% and 26% of the gross merchandize value (GMV) market share, Shopclues is the most capital efficient online marketplace. All these factors have seen ShopClues rise up to be a Billion Dollar Unicorn. >>>

2016 IPO Prospects: Is Stripe Lining up Next?

According to a recent Accenture survey report, 18% of North Americans use mobile payments technology on a regular basis. It is a much higher percentage for millennials and higher-income households, of which 23% and 38%, respectively, use contactless payments at least once a week. But the market is a fast growing one. eMarketer forecasts the total value of mobile payment transactions to increase 210% this year to $27.05 billion.

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