Connected smart appliances face persistent threats of hacking, making consumer trust a prerequisite for hardware with cameras and microphones in the home. Apple consequently centers its home marketing on privacy and security rather than styling, leveraging customer trust as its primary advantage.
Traditional private equity buys struggling physical businesses like factories or car washes to flip or take public. A newer wave of digital-only private equity now buys beaten-down internet brands like Bumble, Vimeo, and Yahoo to capture their steady ongoing cash flow.
Rapidly expanding viral concepts are susceptible to sudden reversals, as seen when Crumble Cookies erased all prior sales gains and experienced franchise bankruptcy. Operators and investors must remain cautious of boom-and-bust cycles across fitness, fashion, and food fads.
Apple spent the past decade concentrating hardware and apps on the human body through devices like AirPods and Apple Watches. With upcoming leadership changes, the company may spend its next decade expanding outside the body into household living room devices.
Corporate profits have risen to a record 12% of GDP while the workers' share of GDP has fallen to all-time lows. Because lagging wages fail to keep pace, participating as a corporate shareholder is essential to capture the upside of economic growth.
Investors face a dilemma between avoiding tech entirely like Warren Buffett and chasing individual speculative stocks out of FOMO. Thematic AI exchange-traded funds offer exposure to artificial intelligence growth without the extreme risks of treating the stock market like a casino.