Where Netflix goes, Big Tech may follow
SAN FRANCISCO: Netflix Inc’s quarterly report on Monday may offer an advanced preview of whether Facebook Inc, Amazon. com Inc and other heavyweights behind much of the US stock market’s record-breaking rally can keep delivering.
Many of the S&P 500’s largest companies - Microsoft Corp, Apple Inc, Alphabet Inc, and Amazon. com – have outperformed in the first 12 trading days of 2018, with investors betting strong earnings growth will justify tech valuations at their highest levels in a decade.
As of Thursday, Netflix, which is due to report its quarterly results on Monday after the stock market closes, had jumped nearly 15 per cent this year, outpacing the S&P 500’s five per cent increase.
Netflix’s 53 per cent surge in 2017, along with rallies by shares of Amazon.com and Silicon Valley’s largest tech companies, helped propel the stock market to new highs.
“Netflix is going to be a great early indicator of risk appetite for these high-volatility growth names,” said Wedbush trader Joel Kulina. “Netflix’s drivers are very company-specific, but if this stock can deliver, there’s no reason this whole market can’t keep going higher.”
The Los Gatos, California company faces increasing competition from streaming services including Amazon.com’s Prime Video and moves by traditional media companies. But investors remain optimistic about its ability to beat expectations.
Its stock recently traded at 95 times expected earnings for the next 12 months, versus AMC En-
Netflix is going to be a great early indicator of risk appetite for these high-volatility growth names. Joel Kulina, Wedbush trader
tertainment at 44 times earnings and Time Warner Inc at 14 times earnings, according to Thomson Reuters data.
Underscoring investors’ willingness to pay premium prices for fast- growing stocks, Phil Blancato, head of Ladenburg Thalmann Asset Management in New York, recently helped a client buy US$1.5 million worth of shares in Facebook, Amazon. com, Apple, Netflix and Google’s parent Alphabet as investments for his grandchildren.
“I said, ‘You’re crazy’, but he was very direct, he wanted the FAANG stocks,” Blancato said, using an acronym for those companies widely used on Wall Street.
Analysts on average expect S&P 500 technology companies to deliver a 15.9 per cent increase in earnings for the December quarter, according to Thomson Reuters. Earnings for the entire S&P 500 are seen rising 12.2 per cent, bolstered by lower unemployment and fatter wages.
Technology investors during the reporting season just underway are also eager to hear company executives explain how their bottom lines will be affected by corporate tax cuts passed by Congress in December, and whether they plan to repatriate overseas profits. — Reuters