What went wrong with Snap, Netflix and Uber?
Despite superficial differences, digital darlings’ business models rest on the same shaky pillars
When evan spiegel, boss of Snap, wrote in a leaked memo that the social-media firm had been “punched in the face hard by 2022’s new economic reality”, he might as well have been describing America’s digital darlings as a whole. After a multi-year bull run, the sector is suffering a sharp correction. The NASDAQ index, home to many consumer-internet companies, has fallen by over 30% in the past 12 months; the Dow Jones Industrial Average, made up of less techie firms, is down by around 10%. Crunchbase, a data provider, estimates that American tech has already shed more than 45,000 jobs this year.
This article appeared in the Business section of the print edition under the headline “Bad tech”
Business November 5th 2022
- What big tech and buy-out barons have in common with GE
- What went wrong with Snap, Netflix and Uber?
- Twitter wants to charge users based on purchasing-power parity
- Will people pay $8 a month for Twitter?
- Fosun’s big asset sale marks the end of an era in Chinese business
- How to think about gamification
- Olaf Scholz leads a blue-chip business delegation to China
From the November 5th 2022 edition
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents
Explore the editionMore from Business
TikTok’s time is up. Can Donald Trump save it?
The imperilled app hopes for help from an old foe
The UFC, Dana White and the rise of bloodsport entertainment
There is more to the mixed-martial-arts impresario than his friendship with Donald Trump
Will Elon Musk scrap his plan to invest in a gigafactory in Mexico?
Donald Trump’s return to the White House may have changed Tesla’s plans
Germany is going nuts for Dubai chocolate
Will the hype last?
The year ahead: a message from the CEO
From the desk of Stew Pidd
One of the biggest energy IPOs in a decade could be around the corner
Venture Global, a large American gas exporter, is going public