Stocks in 2022
If you had to recommend a stock for me to buy right now (with NISA) what would it be?
Would you recommend any Japanese companies?
Questions:
What does this company do?
Will it grow in the future?
Should I invest in this stock now?
Microsoft
These days is famous for:
Windows
X box / games
Cloud services
Bing
Linked In
Which part of their business makes the most money?
Microsoft Revenue 2022
In Jan 2022 Microsoft announced they will buy Activision Blizzard, one of the big 3 US game companies.
Do you think this was a good idea?
Do you think will help Microsoft compete against Nintendo and Playstation?
Should Call of Duty be released only on Xbox from now on?
Price in January 2022
Meta (Facebook)
Do you think facebook is a good company?
Do you know any of facebook’s recent scandals?
it allows fake news about vaccines to spread
a former employee said Facebook KNOWS it’s addictive and bad for people’s mental health
they allowed a fake Russian company to use user data to help Trump win
In 2021 Facebook announced it was changing it’s name to Meta.
Why do you think it did this?
Was it a good idea?
Zuckerberg announced that the company will focus on creating a METAVERSE. What do you think it will be?
Do you want to use these services?
Do you think they’ll be popular in the future?
On February 3rd Facebook’s stock price plunged by 26.5%. Why do you think this happened?
Price in February 2022
It’s daily active users dropped for the first time in 18 years.
How many people do you think use facebook regularly?
1.9 billion
Alphabet (Google)
Google changed it’s name to Alphabet in 2015
What famous brands are part of Google?
For your phone, do you prefer iOS or Android? Why?
Do you think any of these lesser-known subsidiaries will be successful?
…
Calico
A secretive research company that focuses on aging and diseases related to aging
It now has 200 employees and is partnered with Abbvie
Do you think it will be a success?
Would you feel comfortable in one of these taxis?
Do you think these will allowed in Japan in the next 5 years?
Would you prefer 10,000 people over 75 driving these cars on the streets, or 10,000 of these self-driving cars?
Price in January 2022
Mercado Libre
This is basically South America’s Amazon. Like Amazon they started selling online books then expanded dramatically.
Do you think the pandemic has been good or bad for this business?
What is the biggest challenge for online stores in South America?
What are the risks of buying a company in South America?
economic stability
currency
coronavirus
Amazon is trying to enter South America. Do you think Mercado Libre can win against them?
Price in January 2022
Netflix
How many global subscribers do you think Netflix has?
What does this chart tell us?
As of 2022 Netflix has about 222 million paid subscribers but growth is slowing
In 2018 Netflix CEO Reed Hastings announced Netflix’s next 100 million customers would come from India due to their cheap expanding internet.
Indian subscribers at the end of 2021:
Netflix = 5.5 million
Amazon Prime = 19 million
Disney Plus = 46 million
Why do you think Netflix is struggling in India?
Price
Local culture
Competition
Language
Price - it’s expensive compared to other services even though they cut prices by 60%
Local culture - It’s seen as an international brand despite producing over 50 Indian films
Competition - India has 75 streaming services available. 225 shows were launched on streaming services last year. Only 15 were a success
Language - 22 official languages in the country
In Japan what do you think is the most popular streaming service?
Amazon Prime - 33%
Netflix - 14%
Hulu - 6%
Disney Plus - 3%
In Japan do more people watch American or Korean Dramas on Netflix?
In Japan 25% of Netflix content watched is Korean dramas (vs 15% American). It’s Netflix’s biggest competitive advantage
What do you think Netflix needs to do to attract more subscribers in Japan?
Netflix’s next new business is GAMING. They plan to release games based on their original content. Do you think this is a good idea?
Price in January 2022
Starbucks
How has the pandemic affected Starbucks sales?
Starbucks closed about 800 stores globally when the pandemic started but Starbucks total sales in 2021 were higher than in 2019.
Why have they been so successful during the pandemic?
For Starbucks to succeed in the future they have to target China and India and introduce “coffee culture.” Do you think they can be successful?
Price in January 2022
Sources:
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-60108294
https://variety.com/2021/global/asia/amazon-japan-streaming-svod-market-1235080084/
https://fortune.com/2021/12/08/coffee-prices-10-year-high-inflation/