Hi all, Julie here. Somehow it's September. And while it feels like the summer was already loaded with tech news, the fall is likely to be just as eventful. Here are a few trends to watch, now that the summer stupor is receding.
First, there's politics: As the 2020 election looms, both sides of the aisle are publicly lampooning Big Tech, and it's not just talk. The Department of Justice is reviewing companies like Facebook Inc., Alphabet Inc., Amazon.com Inc. and Apple Inc. And antitrust concerns appear to be gaining steam as a stump speech applause line.
On a similar note, the U.S.-China trade war will likely continue to have economic ramifications for tech into the fall. Consumer goods are set to see big impacts, with some of the tariffs going into effect over the holiday weekend. That's left companies like Apple, with expensive products largely built in China, in a particularly tough spot. Wall Street has taken notice, with Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives calling President Trump's recent comments in the dispute "a gut punch to Cupertino.''
Speaking of Apple, the success or floundering of its new credit card will come into sharper focus in the coming months, and will say a lot about the future of payments and fintech innovation. If it goes well, it could nudge along mobile payment adoption, and more tech companies could feel emboldened to take on fintech projects. Success would boost Apple, too, entrenching consumers in its network of services. The card has the potential to drive sales, Gene Munster of Loup Ventures said in a note, but added: "Growing the ecosystem and making it sticky will still trump incremental revenue."
And on the topic of payments, we can't ignore Libra, the blockchain project Facebook finally started talking about this summer after working on it for more than a year. Things behind the scenes and in Washington D.C. could be going better, but the company is still standing by a 2020 launch, which means we should get some more information during the last few months of the year. I'll be interested in seeing if any of the partners start speaking up about the project and coming to Facebook's defense after some tough back-and-forth with D.C. in July. It's too early to say what will become of the project. Some people think it has the potential to remake the global financial system, it could also simply fizzle into nothingness.
By now, if you're not already convinced we're in for a dramatic autumn, remember that Peloton Interactive Inc., the We Co., Postmates Inc. and Poshmark Inc. are all eyeing the public markets; concerns over tech privacy only look more prescient after Jack Dorsey's hack; and Juul might be causing seizures. Next summer can't come soon enough. —Julie VerHage
Post a Comment