Tech Companies That Gained the Most From The Pandemic
The ongoing pandemic has hit the world hard, effectively shutting down entire industries, pushing unemployment numbers to never-before-seen peaks, and spreading uncertainty across entire markets. People in many countries have spent months at home, working from their home office, and enjoying home entertainment in one form or another. It is needless to say that the economies of many countries felt the effects of the pandemic, contracting by double-digits in some cases.
For some businesses, in turn, the effects were mostly positive. The pandemic may have wiped out the multiannual gains of certain industries but pushed others - especially those involved in digital products and services - to new heights. With an increase in those working from home and staying online for extended periods, Google’s stocks have soared together with its user numbers. It was not the only digital company that felt the effect of the lockdowns, though.
Netflix
The pandemic affected many entertainment-related businesses: cinemas, theatres, concert venues have closed, studios delayed the release of their movies, and work on many highly-anticipated TV shows was suspended due to it. With so many people stuck at home with very few alternatives at hand, it was expected for digital streaming services to see a surge in their usage.
Netflix, currently the biggest global provider of streaming content, has seen its user base grow by 15.8 million users in the first quarter of 2020 alone, adding 10 million more in Q2. As of this July, Netflix has more than 192 million active subscribers from all over the globe, an absolute record in the history of the company.
Zoom
The ongoing public health crisis has confined millions of workers around the world to their home office. All these remote workers needed a collaboration platform to make things work. Besides, schools around the world have transitioned to remote learning. All these have led to major growth in the usage video conferencing services, with the biggest winner being US-based company Zoom.
Zoom was created in 2011 as a platform to serve pretty much everyone, from small businesses and schools to the everyday human in need of a place to socialize remotely. When it went public in 2019, it was valued at $15.9 billion. In the first weeks of the pandemic, though, it has seen its usage numbers explode, sending its shares through the roof - as of this June, the company was valued at $58 billion, with expected sales of $1.8 billion this year.
Microsoft
Microsoft has always been a very strong presence on the market - after all, it sells the most widely used operating system in the world, along with many other software solutions for businesses and individuals alike. The ongoing pandemic was expected to affect its sales - but instead, it has given them a surprise boost.
Overall, Microsoft’s revenues have grown by 15% across the board in the latest quarter. While its “traditional” software sales slowed down a bit in the wake of the pandemic, its commercial cloud business has seen its best quarter yet, soaring by 39%. Or, as Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella put it, “We’ve seen two years’ worth of digital transformation in two months”.
