Aspermont, Apple, Amazon - Smart investments in stormy times

Aspermont - Becoming a strategic investor with business intelligence

The saying "knowledge itself is power" originates from the English philosopher Sir Francis Bacon. Applied knowledge is all the more powerful. Before the World Wide Web, publishers created publications and generated revenue by selling printed works and placing advertisements. With the Internet, digitized publishers have many more assets than some investors might imagine. Intelligently networked information can be generated that leads to additional revenue streams.

An example of the successful transformation to an excellently positioned media service provider is the Canadian company Aspermont. Over the past 7 years, Aspermont has evolved from a 187-year-old print publisher into a leading mediatech innovator for the natural resources industry.

Aspermont has delivered high-quality content to B2B subscribers worldwide for over twenty years. With over 30 industry-leading B2B media brands in mining, energy and agriculture, it is an indispensable source of information for industry decision-makers.

Aspermont, in turn, benefits from its users and can target favored content through its digital Content-as-a-Service (CaaS) platform. Along with marketing automation, this enables advertising partners to better target the desired audience.

Attached to the CaaS platform is the Data-as-a-Service (DaaS) module. It enables the Company to bundle data and thus create insider reports for third-party providers. In addition, data sets can be generated from user input, additional valuable data assets can be purchased, and existing data can be read and interpreted.

Through this in-house knowledge advantage, where, for example, future raw material deposits are targeted, Aspermont can act as an investor and, thereby, accelerate production processes through strategic investments. Investors benefit from this business intelligence while the United Nations continues to negotiate the expansion of renewable energies at the upcoming UN Climate Conference.

Apple - Worth more than Amazon, Alphabet and Meta combined

The US Federal Reserve has continued to raise interest rates, strengthening the US dollar. Global tech companies are feeling the downside of this monetary policy in international exchange rates. But there is some upside to the declining growth of the Big Five tech stocks Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta and Microsoft. Warren Buffett writes in one of his Berkshire Hathaway shareholder letters, "It is only when the tide goes out that you find out who has been swimming naked." Things are looking good for Apple, despite macroeconomic factors. **Although global PC sales declined, the Company's Mac business grew 25%.

At the end of 2021, Apple was valued at USD 2.913 trillion, according to Dow Jones market data. The Alphabet, Amazon and Meta merger was worth USD 4.410 trillion at that time. As a reminder, in international terminology, a trillion stands for 1,000 billion.

Apple shares are up 4.9% over the past month, while Alphabet shares are down 9.1%, Amazon shares are down 18.5%, and Meta shares are down 33.3%. Year-to-date, Apple is down 18.3%, Alphabet shares are down 40.5%, Amazon shares are down 44.7%, and Meta is down 73.1%.

Although Apple has indicated that the current quarter will have some growth and profit stability problems in terms of services, analysts' reactions are generally positive. Apple's revenue increased 8% in the September quarter, continuing its quarterly growth streak despite the Covid pandemic.

Apple's board of directors declared a cash dividend of USD 0.23 per share of the Company's stock. The dividend is payable on November 10, 2022, to shareholders of record at the close of business on November 7, 2022. It helps to have some fruit in the portfolio basket. Apple's latest numbers are consolidated here.

Amazon - Catching customers in the streaming business

It all started with the online sale of books. Amazon's infancy is also in the publishing industry. But the US giant has quickly grown into a global e-commerce and logistics company with cloud infrastructure. But even a global player like Amazon is exposed to the rough winds of the macroeconomy. For the fourth quarter, Amazon has forecast revenue growth of only 2% instead of 8%, slower than analysts had previously assumed. The market reacted immediately, sending the stock down 7%.

Thanks to its infrastructure, the group can make adjustments at any time in order to increase its profitability. Amazon Web Services (AWS) continues to post strong, profitable growth. The Company is expected to improve its overall profitability as it contains its costs and makes the most of its balance sheet fixed costs such as warehousing and data centers.

Just recently, the Company raised the price for Prime subscribers. Now it is fishing in other music streaming waters, enticing customers with a major expansion of its music streaming offerings. The Company announced that it will now offer Prime subscribers an entire music catalogue of 100 million songs instead of the previously limited selection of just 2 million. It will also make most of the top podcasts on its service available, ad-free - a clear announcement against Apple, Spotify and other streaming providers.

Ultimately, the level of convenience for users decides which provider they feel most comfortable with. The various revenue sources give the Group enough breathing room to compensate for poorly performing divisions. But even Amazon cannot beat a global recession. Investors should consider whether they are satisfied with the growth forecast.

The markets remain bearish. Amazon is scaling back its growth forecast from 8% to 2% and going after customers from its competitors. Apple seems to be a rock. Thanks to its broad-based offering and the popularity of its brand, they are defying the threat of recession. Aspermont has transformed itself from a publisher to a mediatech investor, targeting commodity industry data for strategic investments. Investors can thus get a taste of the exciting world of rare earths, metals and fossil fuels while benefiting from the growing demand for raw materials brought about by the energy transition.