The Covid-19 pandemic may have been detrimental to the global economy, but it has done no harm to the earning power of the world's biggest technology companies.
As many people stayed indoors to stem the spread of the virus and relied more on technology for work and entertainment, leading tech companies posted a significant increase in their revenues in the first quarter of this year, even as supply chain disruptions led to a global shortage of semiconductors.
The National looks at how much revenue the FAANG group [Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix and Google's parent company Alphabet] of technology heavyweights, Microsoft and electric vehicle maker Tesla made per minute in the first three months to March 31.
Amazon
As Covid-19 boosted online shopping globally, e-commerce giant earned more than $837,100 revenue per minute in the first quarter as its net profit for the period more than tripled to $8.1 billion. The pandemic has significantly fuelled the online shopping and digital payments trend as users avoided using cash.
“Amazon delivered strong first quarter results driven by upside in core retail … as well as accelerating growth in higher margin segments including AWS and advertising," Aaron Kessler, senior research analyst at Raymond James, wrote in a client note.
Apple
The Cupertino company saw the record sales in March quarter in its history earning over $691,234 per minute as net profit more than doubled to $23.6bn. Robust sales of the company's 5G-enabled iPhone 12 series underpinned a 54 per cent year-on-year increase in revenue. The company also achieved double-digit growth in sales of its iPads and Macs.
Loup Ventures analysts Gene Munster and David Stokman predicted the company's revenues will more than treble to $333bn by 2025, from $89.6bn in the last quarter.
Alphabet
Alphabet earned $426,805 per minute on the back of strong growth in its Google Services business. Its revenue increased 34 per cent on an annual basis to $55.3bn, beating analysts' average estimate of $51.7bn.
Microsoft
The last quarter marked the Redmond-headquartered company's 15th straight period of double-digit revenue growth. It earned $321,759 per minute on strong cloud, gaming and personal computing business growth as well as a net income-tax benefit of $620 million.
Facebook
Social networking company Facebook netted more than $201,936 per minute in the three months to March 31. The company attributed this to a double-digit year-on-year rise in the average price per ad and in the number of ads delivered in the first quarter.
One of the areas which was “somewhat lacklustre was the daily active users”, which came in at 1.88 billion, below a forecast of 1.89 billion, said Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst at broker Avatrade.
“Monthly active users also fell short of expectations,” he said.
Tesla
The world's biggest EV maker, Tesla, delivered a record 184,800 cars in the first quarter despite a global shortage of chips, earning the company more than $79,475 per minute in the first quarter. Its revenue during the three months to March 31 increased 74 per cent to $10.3bn, exceeding analysts' expectations of $10.2bn.
"The rapid expansion of EV markets will play to Tesla's advantage, not just in China but also in Europe and the US, where governments are setting ambitious targets to phase out fossil fuel vehicles … and are prepared to back those targets with generous subsidies," Ana Nicholls, industry briefing managing editor at the Economist Intelligence Unit, told The National.
Netflix
Despite subscriber growth falling to an eight-year low due to coronavirus-induced production delays, Netflix posted annual revenue growth of more than 24 per cent to $7.1bn in the first quarter. The world's largest streaming company made $54,783 per minute during the period.
Revenue earned per minute in first quarter of 2021
- Amazon: $837,100
- Apple: $691,234
- Alphabet: $426,805
- Microsoft: $321,759
- Facebook: $201,936
- Tesla: $79,475
- Netflix: $54,783
The biog
Hobbies: Salsa dancing “It's in my blood” and listening to music in different languages
Favourite place to travel to: “Thailand, as it's gorgeous, food is delicious, their massages are to die for!”
Favourite food: “I'm a vegetarian, so I can't get enough of salad.”
Favourite film: “I love watching documentaries, and am fascinated by nature, animals, human anatomy. I love watching to learn!”
Best spot in the UAE: “I fell in love with Fujairah and anywhere outside the big cities, where I can get some peace and get a break from the busy lifestyle”
Cultural fiesta
What: The Al Burda Festival
When: November 14 (from 10am)
Where: Warehouse421, Abu Dhabi
The Al Burda Festival is a celebration of Islamic art and culture, featuring talks, performances and exhibitions. Organised by the Ministry of Culture and Knowledge Development, this one-day event opens with a session on the future of Islamic art. With this in mind, it is followed by a number of workshops and “masterclass” sessions in everything from calligraphy and typography to geometry and the origins of Islamic design. There will also be discussions on subjects including ‘Who is the Audience for Islamic Art?’ and ‘New Markets for Islamic Design.’ A live performance from Kuwaiti guitarist Yousif Yaseen should be one of the highlights of the day.
MATCH INFO
England 2
Cahill (3'), Kane (39')
Nigeria 1
Iwobi (47')
If you go:
The flights: Etihad, Emirates, British Airways and Virgin all fly from the UAE to London from Dh2,700 return, including taxes
The tours: The Tour for Muggles usually runs several times a day, lasts about two-and-a-half hours and costs £14 (Dh67)
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is on now at the Palace Theatre. Tickets need booking significantly in advance
Entrance to the Harry Potter exhibition at the House of MinaLima is free
The hotel: The grand, 1909-built Strand Palace Hotel is in a handy location near the Theatre District and several of the key Harry Potter filming and inspiration sites. The family rooms are spacious, with sofa beds that can accommodate children, and wooden shutters that keep out the light at night. Rooms cost from £170 (Dh808).
Men's football draw
Group A: UAE, Spain, South Africa, Jamaica
Group B: Bangladesh, Serbia, Korea
Group C: Bharat, Denmark, Kenya, USA
Group D: Oman, Austria, Rwanda
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
World ranking (at month’s end)
Jan - 257
Feb - 198
Mar - 159
Apr - 161
May - 159
Jun – 162
Currently: 88
Year-end rank since turning pro
2016 - 279
2015 - 185
2014 - 143
2013 - 63
2012 - 384
2011 - 883
Profile
Company name: Jaib
Started: January 2018
Co-founders: Fouad Jeryes and Sinan Taifour
Based: Jordan
Sector: FinTech
Total transactions: over $800,000 since January, 2018
Investors in Jaib's mother company Alpha Apps: Aramex and 500 Startups
Where to buy
Limited-edition art prints of The Sofa Series: Sultani can be acquired from Reem El Mutwalli at www.reemelmutwalli.com
Tamkeen's offering
- Option 1: 70% in year 1, 50% in year 2, 30% in year 3
- Option 2: 50% across three years
- Option 3: 30% across five years
The specs: 2018 Maserati Ghibli
Price, base / as tested: Dh269,000 / Dh369,000
Engine: 3.0-litre twin-turbocharged V6
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 355hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque: 500Nm @ 4,500rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 8.9L / 100km
The%20specs
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Saudi Cup race day
Schedule in UAE time
5pm: Mohamed Yousuf Naghi Motors Cup (Turf), 5.35pm: 1351 Cup (T), 6.10pm: Longines Turf Handicap (T), 6.45pm: Obaiya Arabian Classic for Purebred Arabians (Dirt), 7.30pm: Jockey Club Handicap (D), 8.10pm: Samba Saudi Derby (D), 8.50pm: Saudia Sprint (D), 9.40pm: Saudi Cup (D)
'Nope'
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Jordan%20Peele%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Daniel%20Kaluuya%2C%20Keke%20Palmer%2C%20Brandon%20Perea%2C%20Steven%20Yeun%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%203.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Manchester City transfers:
OUTS
Pablo Zabaleta, Bacary Sagna, Gael Clichy, Willy Caballero and Jesus Navas (all released)
INS
Ederson (Benfica) £34.7m, Bernardo Silva (Monaco) £43m
ON THEIR WAY OUT?
Joe Hart, Eliaquim Mangala, Samir Nasri, Wilfried Bony, Fabian Delph, Nolito and Kelechi Iheanacho
ON THEIR WAY IN?
Dani Alves (Juventus), Alexis Sanchez (Arsenal)
