2022 Tech Overview: Twitter, Meta & Apple
From the Cambridge Analytica scandal to Twitter’s purge of fake accounts, hardly a day goes by without a new narrative developing in the tech industry.
In recent years, the overall economic environment has had a negative impact on the industry. Let’s explore some significant trends shaping the industry and what they mean for the future.
From Elon Musk offering to purchase Twitter; to Twitter issuing a lawsuit against Musk; to Musk acquiring Twitter and firing 50% of its employees – to say Twitter and Elon Musk have had a tumultuous relationship is an understatement.
Musk, on the other hand, has been tireless in reorganizing the company ever since the acquisition of Twitter. According to rumours, he may be sleeping at Twitter Headquarters until he fixes it. So, what’s all the fuss?
Musk asserts “There’s a massive negative cash flow, and bankruptcy is not out of the question,” Additionally, he stated that Twitter lost $4 million per day.
The exact reasons Twitter’s financial situation is so poor are unclear. However, some comments by the new owner suggest that Twitter has grown too bureaucratic.
Twitter’s restructuring also comes at a time when global expenditure has reduced; therefore, advertisers are spending less. Advertisement is a primary revenue source for Twitter, so this will have also played a role in Twitter’s financial situation.
Meta (Facebook).
Following Twitter’s layoffs, Facebook announced it would lay off 11,000 employees.
These layoffs were caused by Meta’s rising expenditure over the past 12 months. The cuts represent about 13% of Meta’s workforce and will primarily affect its engineering and sales teams. It is the most significant round of layoffs in Facebook’s history.
Meta was also criticized for its data privacy practices and business practices. Its share price plunged 19% in October as a result.
Meta stock has fallen 70% since its peak. The reason for this is probably poor business decisions as well as reduced advertising spend on platforms, which could be due to lower consumer spending. Meta invested large sums of money in a metaverse initiative in 2021. This project has seen very little return and may have played a large part in the company’s decline.
Apple
Apple is one company that has done well in spite of all the negative press surrounding the tech sector.
It recently released financial numbers for the second quarter. 2022. Let’s look at some of the key ones:
- For the March quarter, company earnings per diluted share was $1.52. The quarterly revenue record for that quarter was $97.3 billion. The year-over-year growth is 9.9%.
- Apple reached an all-time record for active devices because of the strong demand from customers.
- iPhone sales increased 10% to $42.6billion during Q3. The result was an increase of total revenue from 8% to $90.1 million in Q3. 2022.
- However, it was slower than Q3 2021 because iPhone sales increased 47% during that quarter.
Apple had a great quarter, even if it was not compared to other top tech firms. Apple might have outperformed Facebook, Twitter and other tech companies in the past months for two reasons:
- It’s built a base of loyal users who regard its products as essential. Because of this, even during financial hardship they will purchase.
- Even though the economy was in a boom, they used sound business operations strategies.
What does this mean for you? Tech Industry?
Tech industry is currently in flux. Twitter and Facebook both are cutting back employees while Apple performs well. This could have implications for the future tech industry.
This could spell doom for Silicon Valley. If Facebook and Twitter fail to make money, what hope does this give other startups? Tech Companies may have to improve their business processes. They must be more innovative in order to stay relevant on the marketplace.
Post-pandemic economies could be stabler These tech titans were forced to take unpopular decisions by high oil prices, Russia-Ukraine conflict, inflation and other issues.
The year 2020 seemed like the tech industry was invincible. We have discovered that the opposite is true. Meta and Twitter were forced to reduce their expenditures on metaverse projects due to excessive spending, and the inefficiency of employees who fill unnecessary positions.
Tech companies need to keep up with the economy and change as technology advances.
Tech Companies will continue to innovate with AI. This will effectively eliminate middle managers leaving only programmers and engineers to handle AI.
