[ad_1]
(Nov 10): Eric Yuan is, in many ways, the model of the coronavirus economy.
Its Zoom Video Communications Inc. has hosted school lessons, family reunions, and business meetings for more than 300 million participants a day during the pandemic. Shares of the video conferencing site have soared more than 500% this year and Yuan, a Chinese-born immigrant to the US, was at one time worth $ 28.6 billion, the 40th richest person on the planet.
That notable increase was hit on Monday after Pfizer Inc said the Covid-19 vaccine it is developing with BioNTech SE prevented more than 90% of infections in one study, the most encouraging scientific advance yet in the battle against it. virus. Airlines, oil giants, and hotel operators rose, but stocks that benefited from closures and work-from-home deals (such as Peloton Interactive Inc, Netflix Inc, and Sea Ltd, Southeast Asia’s largest internet company ) They collapsed. On Tuesday, the defeat continued in Asia for glove makers who saw a surge in demand this year.
The key question now is whether those windfall profits can be sustained or whether people will stop using the services of companies like Zoom after the pandemic ends and they return to the workplace.
‘Normal volatility’
“I don’t think the trend around e-commerce, video collaboration or the shift to the cloud will change as a result of the vaccine,” said Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Mandeep Singh. “The valuations seem rich for some of these names, but some of them are multi-year growth stories. This is just normal volatility as investors look to rotate into sectors that have been depressed due to the pandemic, such as travel, casinos and hospitality. “
Zoom shares fell 17% in New York on Monday, erasing $ 5.1 billion from Yuan’s net worth. He sold more than $ 275 million in Zoom stock in 2020 and is still worth $ 20 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Peloton founder John Foley became a billionaire with the surprising rise in shares of the home fitness company. It is down $ 300 million after the shares fell 20%.
Reed Hastings, the chief executive officer (CEO) of the movie and television streaming service Netflix, saw his wealth dwindle by $ 416 million. Forrest Li, the billionaire behind the Singapore-based Sea, lost nearly $ 1 billion when his company’s US deposit receipts fell 9.5% in the United States on Monday.
Glove makers, which produced at least five billionaires as their shares surged during the pandemic, sank Tuesday. Top Glove Corp Bhd, the world’s largest manufacturer of rubber gloves, lost as much as 11% in early operations in Malaysia. Riverstone Holdings Ltd plunged 13%, while Hartalega Holdings Bhd, Kossan Rubber Industries Bhd and Supermax Corp Bhd fell more than 8%, sinking the fortunes of their owners.
FedEx Corp Chairman Fred Smith’s net worth fell by about $ 250 million as shares in the express delivery company fell 5.7%. His wealth had increased this year by more than 70% as of Friday, as remote working and the rise of e-commerce fueled demand for package delivery services. Jay Chaudhry, CEO of cybersecurity firm Zscaler Inc, and Tim Steiner, co-founder of UK online supermarket Ocado Group plc, were also sunk in the fallout from Pfizer’s vaccine study.
‘Ortega, Rowling’
Some companies and their billionaire owners hang on to their profits. The fortunes of Zara founder Amancio Ortega and his daughter Sandra increased through their stakes in fast-fashion retailer Inditex SA, as the vaccine study raised hopes that consumers would return to physical stores. Hotelier Robert Rowling, as well as industrialist Georg Schaeffler and the Deichmann family, who control one of Europe’s largest shoe retailers, also saw their wealth rise on Monday.
Some companies are optimistic that even after the pandemic is under control, people will continue to use their services.
“How can anyone be tired of Zoom?” CEO Kelly Steckelberg said in a June interview with Bloomberg TV. “Video communication has been integrated into all aspects of our lives.”
[ad_2]
