Alphabet, the parent company of Google, beat expectations in its latest earnings report but saw shares fall. Marcio Jose Sanchez / AP
Alphabet, the parent company of Google, beat expectations in its latest earnings report but saw shares fall. Marcio Jose Sanchez / AP
Alphabet, the parent company of Google, beat expectations in its latest earnings report but saw shares fall. Marcio Jose Sanchez / AP
Alphabet, the parent company of Google, beat expectations in its latest earnings report but saw shares fall. Marcio Jose Sanchez / AP

Forget about valuations, tech stocks are still on for a big ride


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Tech stock valuations were a big topic of discussion on CNBC last week which was full of earnings from the likes of Facebook, Alphabet and Amazon.

Expectations were high ahead of the reports from the largest companies in the world, and investors got a mixed bag. Facebook had blowout numbers, Google parent Alphabet beat expectations but saw shares fall, while Amazon had a big miss on earnings, which saw its stock fall slightly.

For Alphabet, it seemed investors were concerned about the rising costs. For Amazon, investors appeared to be worried about the big earnings miss.

But I would argue investors weren’t concerned at all actually.

Amazon shares fell 3 per cent after hours. It was a similar move with Google even though the company beat on earnings per share and revenue. This move is really just investors taking stock, pausing for breath, and seeing a chance to take some profit. It’s understandable when you look at the runs the stocks have had. Amazon is up 39 per cent year-to-date, while Alphabet is around 20 per cent higher. And it’s not really surprising given the tech-heavy Nasdaq hit another record high last week.

If investors were really disappointed, you would have something similar to Twitter, whose stock crashed over 14 per cent on Thursday. This is a company which beat earnings expectations but failed to grow users. It hasn’t been able to convince its investors that the growth will come in the future.

This is different to the larger giants: Netflix, Amazon, Google, and Facebook. Netflix is planning to spend $6 billion on content this year. Amazon’s spending was up 28 per cent alone in the second quarter, while Facebook said costs would rise as much as 45 per cent in 2017.

It’s easy to think that these rising costs coupled with worries over the growth rates of some companies, like Facebook for example, should raise questions about valuations.

But as one investor told me last week, “forget about valuations, just own the damn thing".

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It’s a mentality that is prevalent across tech investing. The majority of analysts have buy or strong buy recommendations on the large technology stocks and that’s because these companies have convinced investors of their long-term prospects.

As investors, everyone knows that Amazon really doesn't care about the bottom line," Michael Yoshikami, founder of Destination Wealth Management, told CNBC after the e-commerce giant’s earnings last week. "What you're buying it for is top-line growth, revenue growth, market share.”

This stands true for many of the largest tech stocks, which have in fairness seen strong revenue growth. With Facebook, you’re buying into a promise of never ending revenue growth with a user base of 2 billion people and growing. With Alphabet, investors are hoping that its search dominance coupled with booming areas like cloud and YouTube provide a long-term runway. And with Amazon, well, no sector is out of bounds with this company.

In my last column in May, I made the point that there would be short-term wobbles in tech stocks, but ultimately the rally would continue. It has. And these giants of the world aren’t slowing down.

Arjun Kharpal is a technology correspondent for CNBC in London.

The National and CNBC International are global content sharing partners.

Tax authority targets shisha levy evasion

The Federal Tax Authority will track shisha imports with electronic markers to protect customers and ensure levies have been paid.

Khalid Ali Al Bustani, director of the tax authority, on Sunday said the move is to "prevent tax evasion and support the authority’s tax collection efforts".

The scheme’s first phase, which came into effect on 1st January, 2019, covers all types of imported and domestically produced and distributed cigarettes. As of May 1, importing any type of cigarettes without the digital marks will be prohibited.

He said the latest phase will see imported and locally produced shisha tobacco tracked by the final quarter of this year.

"The FTA also maintains ongoing communication with concerned companies, to help them adapt their systems to meet our requirements and coordinate between all parties involved," he said.

As with cigarettes, shisha was hit with a 100 per cent tax in October 2017, though manufacturers and cafes absorbed some of the costs to prevent prices doubling.

MATCH INFO

Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Bayern Munich v Real Madrid

When: April 25, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Allianz Arena, Munich
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 1, Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid

How much sugar is in chocolate Easter eggs?
  • The 169g Crunchie egg has 15.9g of sugar per 25g serving, working out at around 107g of sugar per egg
  • The 190g Maltesers Teasers egg contains 58g of sugar per 100g for the egg and 19.6g of sugar in each of the two Teasers bars that come with it
  • The 188g Smarties egg has 113g of sugar per egg and 22.8g in the tube of Smarties it contains
  • The Milky Bar white chocolate Egg Hunt Pack contains eight eggs at 7.7g of sugar per egg
  • The Cadbury Creme Egg contains 26g of sugar per 40g egg
Jumanji: The Next Level

Director: Jake Kasdan

Stars: Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Karen Gillan, Jack Black, Nick Jonas 

Two out of five stars 

The specs

Engine: 2.9-litre, V6 twin-turbo

Transmission: seven-speed PDK dual clutch automatic

Power: 375bhp

Torque: 520Nm

Price: Dh332,800

On sale: now

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs

AT4 Ultimate, as tested

Engine: 6.2-litre V8

Power: 420hp

Torque: 623Nm

Transmission: 10-speed automatic

Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)

On sale: Now

While you're here
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Haltia.ai%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202023%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECo-founders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Arto%20Bendiken%20and%20Talal%20Thabet%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%2C%20UAE%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20AI%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2041%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20About%20%241.7%20million%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Self%2C%20family%20and%20friends%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The National's picks

4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young

The Settlers

Director: Louis Theroux

Starring: Daniella Weiss, Ari Abramowitz

Rating: 5/5

Notable groups (UAE time)

Jordan Spieth, Si Woo Kim, Henrik Stenson (12.47pm)

Justin Thomas, Justin Rose, Louis Oosthuizen (12.58pm)

Hideki Matsuyama, Brooks Koepka, Tommy Fleetwood (1.09pm)

Sergio Garcia, Jason Day, Zach Johnson (4.04pm)

Rickie Fowler, Paul Casey, Adam Scott (4.26pm)

Dustin Johnson, Charl Schwartzel, Rory McIlroy (5.48pm)

Our family matters legal consultant

Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?

1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull

2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight

3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge

4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own

5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed

Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills

Concrete and Gold
Foo Fighters
RCA records

COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%203S%20Money%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202018%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20London%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Ivan%20Zhiznevsky%2C%20Eugene%20Dugaev%20and%20Andrei%20Dikouchine%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20FinTech%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%245.6%20million%20raised%20in%20total%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
How to wear a kandura

Dos

  • Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion 
  • Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
  • Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work 
  • Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester

Don’ts 

  • Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal 
  • Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
TWISTERS

Director: Lee Isaac Chung

Starring: Glen Powell, Daisy Edgar-Jones, Anthony Ramos

Rating: 2.5/5

The Buckingham Murders

Starring: Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ash Tandon, Prabhleen Sandhu

Director: Hansal Mehta

Rating: 4 / 5

If you go

The flights

The closest international airport for those travelling from the UAE is Denver, Colorado. British Airways (www.ba.com) flies from the UAE via London from Dh3,700 return, including taxes. From there, transfers can be arranged to the ranch or it’s a seven-hour drive. Alternatively, take an internal flight to the counties of Cody, Casper, or Billings

The stay

Red Reflet offers a series of packages, with prices varying depending on season. All meals and activities are included, with prices starting from US$2,218 (Dh7,150) per person for a minimum stay of three nights, including taxes. For more information, visit red-reflet-ranch.net.

 

'Gehraiyaan'
Director:Shakun Batra

Stars:Deepika Padukone, Siddhant Chaturvedi, Ananya Panday, Dhairya Karwa

Rating: 4/5

THE SIXTH SENSE

Starring: Bruce Willis, Toni Collette, Hayley Joel Osment

Director: M. Night Shyamalan

Rating: 5/5

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Jetour T1 specs

Engine: 2-litre turbocharged

Power: 254hp

Torque: 390Nm

Price: From Dh126,000

Available: Now

Feeding the thousands for iftar

Six industrial scale vats of 500litres each are used to cook the kanji or broth 

Each vat contains kanji or porridge to feed 1,000 people

The rice porridge is poured into a 500ml plastic box

350 plastic tubs are placed in one container trolley

Each aluminium container trolley weighing 300kg is unloaded by a small crane fitted on a truck

World Series

Game 1: Red Sox 8, Dodgers 4
Game 2: Red Sox 4, Dodgers 2
Game 3: Saturday (UAE)

* if needed

Game 4: Sunday
Game 5: Monday
Game 6: Wednesday
Game 7: Thursday