Peloton, Aspermont, Netflix - Sustainable digital models

Aspermont - Showcase candidate from Down Under

The publishing industry is one that has suffered the most since the arrival of the World Wide Web and, at the latest, after the introduction of the smartphone. The original sources of revenue, print advertising and subscriptions, were becoming less and less important, and sales were falling. Publishers had to transition to a digital media house sooner rather than later. Aspermont, originally a publisher of Mining Journal and Mining Magazine, two magazines that have been published continuously for 186 and 112 years, respectively, took this hard step back in 2014, with CEO Alex Kent borrowing from the business models of Netflix and Amazon.

Project Horizon, a digital platform, was launched in 2017 and featured business functions in marketing automation, UX design and data analytics. This made it possible to commercialize workflows. In total, the digital transformation took 5 years. What emerged was a disruptive B2B solution broken down into three business units that scale to each other. Using the XaaS model, Aspermont distributes high-quality content to a growing audience.

The advantage of the Australians, who have offices in the UK, Brazil and the Philippines, is the data set collected from the historical data of some 8 million decision-makers in the mining, energy and agriculture industries. In the data area, user behavior patterns are marketed and leads generated, while in "services," Aspermont offers services for customers, such as content, advertising, sponsorship or events. Payment is made in a subscription model similar to Netflix, but Aspermont customers can add further premium content services and book new content formats.

Recently, the Australians announced their entry into the fintech industry. Together with partners, a joint venture was established that has as its first goal the launch of a platform for raising capital for professional investors on the ASX market. A business advisory agreement was also signed with investment bank SooChow CSSD Capital Markets, which focuses on young, high-growth companies in the Asian region.

Aspermont recently established an office in Singapore and expects the new partner to help develop its investor base and increase awareness in the region. In addition, SooChow has an option to purchase up to 250 million shares expiring only September 30, 2022, at an exercise price of AUD 0.0432 per share. Currently, the stock is trading at AUD 0.02, giving the Company a market value of AUD 58 million.

The figures for the first quarter of 2022 underpin the positive development of the Australian Company. Total revenues compared to Q1 2021 increased by 10% to AUD 4.4 million, while revenues from the XaaS sector grew disproportionately by 18% to AUD 2.0 million. The gross margin expanded significantly to 68%. You can read a detailed report on Aspermont here.

In addition, CEO Alex Kent will be presenting to the stock market audience at the virtual International Investment Forum on February 17, 2022. Free registration is available here: us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/5016342179711/WN_fM2DLtC_S7eMzHfL7uYamA.

Netflix - The end of the line

The Corona pandemic and the extended lockdowns boosted the business of US streaming provider Netflix. Revenue, profit and also the share price shot up since March 2020. From around USD 300, the share price moved up to USD 700.99 at its peak by November of last year. However, this upward trend seems to have come to an abrupt end. With the publication of the figures for the past fourth quarter, the Company disappointed both investors and analysts.

With 8.28 million new subscribers worldwide, Netflix fell short of its forecast of 8.5 million. Moreover, "only" 2.5 million new subscriptions are expected for the coming quarter. Apart from the fact viewers are likely to lose their appetite for streaming for the first time due to the demise of the Omicron variant, intense competition is also becoming an increasing problem. Netflix lost its market leadership in Germany to Amazon Prime Video.

Peloton - Happy end for a discontinued model?

One of the trends during the pandemic was undoubtedly the spinning bike developed by Peloton. People could race against virtual opponents in their living rooms and book fitness classes via a subscription model. A new fitness movement, at least in times of lockdown, was born. But here, too, interest has declined significantly.

On the one hand, most fitness studios have opened again, and on the other hand, people prefer cycling on the street or in the forest. Demand has plummeted so much that Peloton put the production of its bikes and other equipment on hold for the time being.

However, there may still be a cheerful ending for Peloton shareholders. As the Bloomberg news agency reported over the weekend, citing people familiar with the matter, Peloton is looking into the interest of other companies for a takeover. According to the "Wall Street Journal", Amazon is among them, the "Financial Times" wrote that Nike is also considering an offer.

Due to the Corona pandemic, digitization accelerated in all industries. While the enormous growth of Netflix and especially Peloton was due to the extended lockdowns and is already cooling down again, the transformation of Aspermont into a digital B2B media company is sustainable, which should lead to rising quotations in the medium term.