The majority of earnings reports for high-profile tech stocks have come and gone, and there was plenty of excitement for investors and spectators. But even with the most recent quarter’s earnings reports in the rear view, tech stocks are still stealing headlines left and right.
Three of the biggest tech stocks out there — Twitter (TWTR), Facebook (FB) and Google (GOOG) — were no exception. Let’s take a look at some recent news out of these hot tech stocks.
Tech Stocks: Twitter Take a Stand
It has been just over a year since Twitter stock went public, but the big news out of the company had little to do directly with the milestone or share price. Instead, Twitter made headline for teaming up with the non-profit organization Women, Action & Media (WAM) to battle abuse and harassment on the social media site.
Essentially, two WAM staff members will work full-time to monitor reports of harassment, bring them to Twitter, then resolve the issue within 24 hours. While this may seem like progress, not everyone was impressed by the news. Just take this reaction from The Atlantic:
“It’s understood to be a major improvement to the current situation, that two people will now be devoting serious time and attention to Twitter’s harassment problem — even though they work for a small nonprofit that’s effectively donating that time and attention to Twitter, a for-profit and publicly owned corporation.”
In fact, WAM executive director Jaclyn Friedman told The Atlantic’s reporter that “for all the money they make off their users, not to be able to spend a little more to make this safer [seems wrong].”
Tech Stocks: Facebook Hosts a Town Hall
Speaking of social media, Facebook stock investors have also had a lot of news to digest lately. That’s because founder Mark Zuckerberg just hosted the company’s first community town hall. He talked about everything from his personal wardrobe to whether the site is losing its cool — a common accusation from critics.
Perhaps the most interesting thing to come out of the town hall, though — at least from the point of view of Facebook stock investors — is that Zuckerberg said Facebook will be mostly video in five years. That transition will definitely impact Facebook stock should it hold true, as the company can charge a premium for video advertising. The flipside, though, is that many users find video ads far more annoying — especially when they automatically play in news feeds.
Tech Stocks: Google Debuts the Nexus 9
Last but not least, Google stock moved south most of last week, despite the release of its newest flagship tablet. The Google Nexus 9 has a laundry list of new features, including Android 5.0 Lollipop, a bigger dimensions than traditional widescreen, and front-facing speakers.
But those features come at a price — namely, $399. That’s worrisome for Google stock, especially considering early reviews have hardly been flattering. A few notable headlines:
- Nexus 9 vs. Apple iPad mini 2: have the tables turned? (Geek)
- Nexus 9 Review: A Powerful Tablet … for Android Die-Hards Only (Wall Street Journal)
- Nexus 9 deep-dive review: Bigger, but not necessarily better (Computerworld)
- The Nexus 9 is great, but give me the iPad Air 2 (CNET)
- Nexus 9 teardown: ‘An exercise in corner cutting’ (ZDNet)
Keep an eye on sentiment going forward if you’re eying Google stock; while the company has lots of irons in the fire, its tablet revenue is still important.
As of this writing, Robert Martin did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.
