RiverPark Advisors an independently-owned investment firm, recently published its first-quarter RiverPark Long/Short Opportunity Fund commentary. During the first quarter of 2020, the RiverPark Long/Short Opportunity Fund returned 9.48% (institutional shares), compared to the total return of -19.60% by the S&P 500 Index. You should check out RiverPark’s top 5 stock picks which helped them beat […]
(Bloomberg) -- The day the U.S. Senate acquitted Donald Trump of impeachment charges, his re-election campaign staff posted a video on Snapchat, where they knew young voters would see it. “Liberals tonight:” it starts. A woman falls to her knees and screams a guttural “NO!!” as newscasters announce Trump’s 2016 presidential win. Then, a spoof cover of Time Magazine shows signs for TRUMP 2028, TRUMP 2032, and so on until a final flourish: “TRUMP 4EVA.”The clip is one of Trump’s most popular Snapchat posts, according to the campaign. It pushes the right social-media buttons, coming across more like an internet meme than a traditional political message. Videos like this have helped Trump’s Snapchat following nearly triple to over 1.5 million in about 8 months, far exceeding rival Joe Biden’s audience on the app. But the former vice president is starting to invest in the app, too: On Wednesday, he’s giving an interview on Snapchat’s political news show, Good Luck America.Snap Inc.’s app, known for ephemeral photo messages and bizarre face filters, is suddenly a hot battleground in the 2020 presidential campaign. Its clout in political conversation is smaller, but millennial and Gen-Z voters make up 35% of the U.S. electorate, and Snapchat reaches 75% of them every day, the company says.America’s first-time voters, in a normal election year, would be registering to vote on college campuses, at the library or their local DMV office. Covid-19 is making that impossible right now, so Snapchat is one of the best ways to get them involved and influence their thinking, political groups say. When a Snapchat user turns 18 in the U.S. -- as up to 500,000 of them do each month -- the company displays a voter registration link on their profiles for their entire birthday week.“Snapchat is the platform that can fill all the institutional gaps in reaching young people,” said Mike Ward, the program director of voter engagement at Democracy Works, a nonprofit that uses technology to make voting easier. “They are uniquely positioned to be the most powerful youth voter registration force in the country.” In the 2018 U.S. midterm elections, Snapchat accounted for 30% of traffic to a Democracy Works website that showed people their nearest polling place.Voter registration has cratered in the midst of the pandemic, according to a recent report by TargetSmart Communications LLC, a Democratic data and strategy firm. But younger voters may be motivated to weigh in on who should be leading the national response, as well as address the economic downturn, according to Tom Bonier, chief executive officer of TargetSmart.States are putting alternative voting methods in place that are being applied unevenly, leaving experts with little insight into voter turnout this fall. Younger voters are unaccustomed to voting by mail, so digital outreach to this group is more important than ever, Bonier said.TikTok, the Chinese-owned short video platform that’s popular with American youth, has mostly stayed out of politics while Snapchat has leaned in. Snap has a dedicated staff offering training to candidates and governments, working closely with campaigns’ digital teams.Snapchat befuddles older generations, so it’s not as effective for amassing political donations. The biggest benefit, according to the Trump campaign, is the chance to reach the app’s general audience. On Twitter and Facebook, the campaign depends on users sharing political messages to reach more people. On Snapchat, if they post popular content frequently enough, it will appear on the Discover page where many of the app’s 229 million daily users go to watch videos and other content.Democrats Andrew Yang and Pete Buttigieg both posted frequently enough to make the Discover page during the recent presidential primary election. Buttigieg made 15-second selfie videos specifically for Snapchat before walking on stage during rallies.The Biden campaign hasn’t invested as much in digital strategy, choosing instead to prioritize traditional media. For one debate, his granddaughters took over his Snapchat account to reach young voters. But he rarely speaks on the app himself, and he has been slower to hire for his digital team. He faces a formidable Trump digital staff of about 100 people. Trump is holding virtual rallies, gathering email addresses and building outreach lists through digital video and advertising.Read more: Biden Digital Game Outmatched by Trump as Campaign Goes VirtualIt’s not just Snapchat where Biden lags. He has just over 5 million followers on Twitter, compared to Trump’s 80 million. On Instagram, Biden has 2 million followers. Trump has 19.6 million.Biden is trying to change this. The campaign just announced three digital hires from the campaigns of Elizabeth Warren, Beto O’Rourke and Kamala Harris. It plans to double digital staff to about 50 to help counter Trump’s divisive messaging with optimistic content that has the potential to go viral, according to the campaign.“If we want to have any chance of mobilizing young voters in November, that work has to start now,” said Stefan Smith, Buttigieg’s former online engagement director. “Trump winning the election may not come down to Snapchat, but the fact that the Trump campaign is maximizing on every single social media platform is cause for concern.”For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
Facebook's Avatars feature, which lets you customize a virtual lookalike of yourself for use as stickers in comments and Messenger chats, is today launching in the U.S. Essentially Facebook's version of Snap's Bitmoji, Avatars were first introduced last year and have been since made available in Australia, New Zealand, Europe and Canada. Based on early feedback, Facebook is also today expanding its range of Avatar customizations to include a variety of new hairstyles, complexions and outfits. Initially, Facebook users will be able set up their Avatar from either the Facebook or Messenger comment composer.
Trump's executive order attempting to shackle the platform will probably die in court, but that's beside the point.
As the U.S. waits for the great reopening of its hallowed national pastimes in an era of pandemic-enforced social distancing, sports teams are increasingly turning to a new wave of digital tools like social media and video games to connect with a new generation of fans. The Los Angeles Rams are the latest team to embrace the trend, choosing to work with social media giant Snap and EA Sports' Madden NFL franchise to unveil the new design of their uniforms ahead of the opening of the most high-tech stadium in the National Football League later this year. The team is working with Los Angeles' own Snap to unveil the uniforms in a custom-created Snapchat augmented reality lens, featuring the ability to trigger players into action.
(Bloomberg) -- ByteDance Ltd.’s valuation has risen at least a third to more than $100 billion in recent private share transactions, people familiar with the matter said, reflecting expectations the owner of video phenom TikTok will keep pulling in advertisers.Stock in the world’s most valuable startup has changed hands recently at a price that suggests its value has risen more than 33% from about $75 billion during a major round of funding two years ago, the people said, asking not to be identified because the matter isn’t public.Some trades recently valued the Chinese company between $105 billion and $110 billion on the secondary markets, some of people said. It has also traded as high as $140 billion, one person said.The trades are private transactions and may not fully reflect broader investor expectations. Stock in the secondary market is usually valued at a discount to primary shares since it’s less liquid and there are fewer financial details on company performance available to investors.“The trading of ByteDance is reflective of the global wave of consumers who agree that ByteDance can displace Facebook as the leading social network,” said Andrea Walne, a partner at Manhattan Venture Partners who follows the secondary markets.In the past decade, Bytedance is surpassed only by Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Ant Financial Services Group as companies that have traded at a higher premium in the secondary market, she added.ByteDance has grown into a potent online force propelled in part by a TikTok short video platform that’s taken U.S. teenagers by storm. Investors are keen to grab a slice of a company that draws some 1.5 billion monthly active users to a family of apps that includes Douyin, TikTok’s Chinese twin, as well as news service Toutiao. That’s despite American lawmakers raising privacy and censorship concerns about its operation. This week, it poached Walt Disney Co. streaming czar Kevin Mayer to become chief executive officer of TikTok.The company was in the very early stages of exploring a share sale abroad last year, people familiar have said. But any float remains a longer-term objective given ByteDance remains well-funded, the people added. ByteDance declined to comment on Wednesday. Its backers include SoftBank Group Corp., General Atlantic and Sequoia.The Chinese startup in the ballpark of the market capitalizations of some of the world’s biggest public companies, ahead of rivals such as Twitter Inc. and Snap Inc. but still behind Facebook Inc. ByteDance -- whose TikTok remains the venue of choice for half a billion lip-syncing, dancing music video aficionados -- is now going head-to-head with Chinese internet leaders from Tencent Holdings Ltd. to Alibaba for user traffic and marketing dollars.It’s also strengthening its operations in newer arenas such as e-commerce and gaming. ByteDance this year kicked off a wave of hiring it envisions hitting 40,000 new jobs in 2020, hoping to match Alibaba’s headcount at a time technology corporations across the globe are furloughing or reducing staff.Longer term, the company will have to grapple with rising scrutiny from Washington. Two prominent senators have urged investigations into TikTok, labeling it a national security threat.Read more: ByteDance Launches Global Hiring Spree With 10,000 New Jobs(Updates with a quote, new details in the fifth paragraph. An earlier version of the story was corrected to reflect executive’s proper title.)For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
(Bloomberg) -- Kevin Mayer, the architect of Walt Disney Co.’s direct-to-consumer video strategy, is leaving the entertainment giant to join TikTok, three months after getting passed over for the job of chief executive officer.Mayer, 58, will become CEO of the fast-growing Chinese social-media app that’s popular with teens and other young people, starting on June 1. His appointment was announced by ByteDance Ltd., TikTok’s parent, where he will also serve as chief operating officer.The departure, though not unexpected, is a loss for Disney’s streaming effort at a time when other businesses -- including its film studio, theme parks and TV networks -- are bearing the brunt of the coronavirus-related shutdown. Besides leading the company’s online video push, Mayer was the strategist behind numerous Disney deals through the years, such as the acquisitions of Lucasfilm and Marvel.“I just love the mission of TikTok, which is to bring joy and inspiration to people around the world,” Mayer said in an interview. He also said he is looking forward to working with ByteDance founder and CEO Yiming Zhang, whom he called “a great visionary guy.”Disney shares dipped as much as 2.1% on the news in late trading, before recovering.To succeed Mayer, Disney promoted Rebecca Campbell, a 23-year veteran of the company’s TV businesses. She most recently served as president of the Disneyland resort in California, but earlier ran its direct-to-consumer offerings in Europe and the Middle East, as well ABC stations in the U.S.Parks ChiefDisney also named Josh D’Amaro to be the new head of its theme parks and consumer-products division. He succeeds Bob Chapek, who was appointed Disney’s CEO in February. D’Amaro most recently led the Walt Disney World resort in Florida.TikTok has been searching for a new CEO since at least January, aiming to take advantage of the app’s dramatic surge in U.S. popularity, amid scrutiny from U.S. regulators who have targeted the company as a potential security threat.Mayer will report to Zhang, who built TikTok, along with its Chinese version Douyin, into one of the world’s most popular apps, with more than a billion users.TikTok fans share short video clips, some comedic, some based on dancing, usually synced to music. That has made ByteDance the most valuable tech startup in the world, challenging the dominance of U.S. companies like Facebook Inc. and Snap Inc.Mayer joins TikTok as it’s building an entertainment business and seeking to generate advertising dollars from its large user base. The company has been staffing up in Los Angeles with executives from Hollywood and the music industry.Late last year, the company hired Ole Obermann, formerly of Warner Music Group, to run its music operations. Last month, TikTok tapped Nick Tran from Disney’s video service Hulu to become its head of marketing in North America.TikTok is best known for spawning viral videos that have propelled songs such as Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road” to the top of the Billboard charts, and turned performers such as Charli D’Amelio into teen idols. Though TikTok is a household word among teens, it has been growing its audience of older users, too.Mayer’s most recent focus has been Disney+. The $7-a-month streaming service has signed up more than 54 million users since its debut in November. Mayer said it’s too early to say whether TikTok will compete directly with Disney in the business of creating movies and TV shows.“It’s a different business model,” he said. “And it’s a good one in its own right. I have to start there and do my thing and figure out what the future holds.”Mayer said it wasn’t an easy decision to leave Disney, which he first joined in 1993. He worked for decades with Bob Iger, now the company’s executive chairman, and described the new CEO as “awesome.”“I would never have left ever if I thought it would put the rollout of Disney+ at risk, that’s my baby,” he said. “The team there knows how to do this. We developed a playbook and it works really well.”He also had praise for his replacement, Campbell: “She is a force of nature.”Mayer said he didn’t think his leaving at this time would be an issue for Disney.“Opportunities come when they come,” he said. “ByteDance needed someone for this role, and I felt Disney+ was in good hands.”(Updates with Mayer comments in fourth paragraph.)For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
Snap (SNAP) reported earnings 30 days ago. What's next for the stock? We take a look at earnings estimates for some clues.
What happened Shares of Snap (NYSE: SNAP) have fallen today, down by 4% as of 1:15 p.m. EDT, after larger rival Facebook (NASDAQ: FB) rolled out "Avatars" in the U.S. Avatars are Facebook's version of Bitmoji that it initially introduced in Australia last summer.
Some high school students even mourn the loss of academic rigor in the last few weeks of high school, including Karl Kilb IV, 17, who attends a performing arts high school in New York.
The surging popularity of video-sharing app TikTok has Wall Street buzzing. In a big move, Tik Tok hired the boss of Walt Disney's video streaming operations as its new chief executive.
Progressive activists say mortgages and rent should be cancelled while the coronavirus pandemic slows the economy, but what would that mean for landlords?
Social media companies have ridden the pandemic well, indicating that the society is becoming more reliant on online entertainment.
All three companies have coronavirus-resistant business models and are set to outperform the market over the long term.
This morning, Snap joined a host of startup accelerators shifting its demo day online amid the COVID-19 quarantine. With its third class of startups, Yellow, Snap's in-house startup accelerator that launched in 2018, brought investors and founders together in private slack channels after a live-streamed presentation. The event kicked off with a few words from CEO Evan Spiegel and soon transitioned into a succession of live-streamed pitches from the 10 startups in Yellow's latest batch.
RiverPark Advisors an independently-owned investment firm, recently published its first-quarter RiverPark Long/Short Opportunity Fund commentary. During the first quarter of 2020, the RiverPark Long/Short Opportunity Fund returned 9.48% (institutional shares), compared to the total return of -19.60% by the S&P 500 Index. You should check out RiverPark’s top 5 stock picks which helped them beat […]
TikTok is clever to appoint a Disney character as its new chief executive. US lawmaker concerns about the app’s security have weighed on Chinese parent company ByteDance. Offering the job to Disney’s former head of streaming Kevin Mayer suggests big plans are afoot.
Snap Inc. (NYSE: SNAP) announced today that it will stream its Snap Partner Summit on June 11, 2020.
In the current session, Snap Inc. (NYSE: SNAP) is trading at $17.12, after a 1.06% spike. Over the past month, the stock increased by 31.93%, and in the past year, by 53.04%. With performance like this, long-term shareholders optimistic but others are more likely to look into the price-to-earnings ratio to see if the stock might be overvalued.Assuming that all other factors are held constant, this could present itself as an opportunity for shareholders trying to capitalize on the higher share price. The stock is currently below from its 52 week high by 13.34%.The P/E ratio measures the current share price to the company's EPS. It is used by long-term investors to analyze the company's current performance against its past earnings, historical data and aggregate market data for the industry or the indices, such as S&P 500. A higher P/E indicates that investors expect the company to perform better in the future, and the stock is probably overvalued, but not necessarily. It also shows that investors are willing to pay a higher share price currently, because they expect the company to perform better in the upcoming quarters. This leads investors to also remain optimistic about rising dividends in the future.Depending on the particular phase of a business cycle, some industries will perform better than others.Compared to the aggregate P/E ratio of the 39.56 in the internet content & information industry, Snap has a lower P/E ratio of 0.0. Shareholders might be inclined to think that they might perform worse than its industry peers. It's also possible that the stock is undervalued.Price to earnings ratio is not always a great indicator of the company's performance. Depending on the earnings makeup of a company, investors may not be able to attain key insights from trailing earnings.See more from Benzinga * Morning Market Stats in 5 Minutes * 11 Communication Services Stocks Moving In Wednesday's Pre-Market Session * Afternoon Market Stats in 5 Minutes(C) 2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
Click here to read the full article. Francis Roberts, previously a manager at YouTube working with some of the platform's biggest creators, has joined Snap as senior manager of digital talent.Roberts starts at the Snapchat parent company Monday, May 18. Based in L.A., he will report to Jim Shepherd, Snap’s head of talent partnerships. Most recently, Roberts was at YouTube, where he was the strategic partner manager for top creators and worked with talent including Liza Koshy, the Try Guys and Jackie Aina.At Snap, Roberts will oversee relationships with digital-native talent. In that role, he also will support content opportunities for creators, such as identifying opportunities to work with them to develop Snap's Creator Shows and Snap Originals, along with community content like Snap Me, in which the platform's stars answer fan questions.“We are thrilled to welcome Francis as a member of our Talent Partnerships team," Shepherd said. "His experience working with top creators and his relationships in the industry will greatly contribute to our mission of delivering even more compelling opportunities to creators on Snapchat in 2020 and beyond.”Roberts joins Snap after spending eight years at Google. At the internet giant, before moving to the YouTube team in 2017, he was principal analytical lead in Google's large-customer sales division. Prior to joining Google in 2012, he was founder and CEO of BE LLC, a New York-based event planning and digital media firm. Before that worked as an analyst at Barclays Capital. Roberts holds a bachelor’s degree in international business with a focus on Asia-Pacific studies from Howard University.