Early this month, social messaging service Snap (NYSE: SNAP) reported its second quarter results that beat estimates. However, the market is diappointed with the sequential decline in the number of its daily active users. >>>
For nearly a year now, mobile payments firm Square’s stock (NYSE: SQ) has been on the rise. Its recent financial results may not have been spectacular, but the usage metrics continue to impress the market, taking its stock to record highs.
According to eMarketer, global retail e-commerce sales have grown 25% to $2.304 trillion in 2017 and is expected to grow to $4.9 trillion by the year 2021. Inspired by the growth in the e-commerce market, Germany-based NuCom Group is expanding its presence significantly. The company recently entered the Billion Dollar Unicorn club.
Recent reports from analysts suggest that the global cryptocurrency market will grow to $1 trillion in 2018 from an estimated $417 billion in 2017 in spite of the growing regulatory concerns. But the skepticism has not stopped the US FinTech firm Circle from reaching the Billion Dollar Unicorn status.
According to a 2017 Allied Market Research report, the global neobanking market is expected to grow 51% annually through to the year 2020. Neobanks are the new kinds of banking organizations that use technology to provide complete online banking solutions to its customers. They do not have physical offices and branches and allow customers to complete all transactions online without expecting them to visit a bank. UK-based Billion Dollar Unicorn Revolut is one such neobank that recently acquired the Unicorn status.
VC investments in Latin America doubled in 2017 to over $1 billion and over $600 million were invested in the first quarter of 2018. A beneficiary of this trend is Brazilian FinTech startup Nubank, which recently entered the Billion Dollar Unicorn Club. >>>
According to a Markets and Markets report, the global facial recognition software and tool market is estimated to grow 14% annually over the next four years to $7.8 billion by the year 2022 from just over $4 billion in 2017. The growth is estimated to be driven by the growing need for enhanced surveillance and monitoring at public places driven by government regulations and concerns about safety. China-based Billion Dollar Unicorn player Yitu Technologies is already making its presence felt in the industry.
Last week, Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) became the first US company to cross the $1 trillion valuation. It was a close race to the trillion dollar club. Here is the Bloomberg chart that shows how close the race was between Apple, Amazon, Alphabet, and Microsoft.