The search for the next Apple is on. In some quarters, hopes are high that Facebook will generate Apple-like returns.
A picture is worth a 1,000 words, and the chart tells the story. Money has been pouring out of Apple stock and into Facebook stock. Facebook has outperformed Apple by about 90% in a very short time.
The price pattern of a stock is a simple way to make a crude guess about the money flow. A better way is to do money flow analysis based on tick data. It pays to further dissect the tick data to detect the footprints often left by smart money. By these measures, smart money has also been pouring into Facebook.
Obvious are many of the similarities between Apple and Facebook.
Charismatic Leaders
Apple had Steve Jobs. Facebook has Mark Zuckerberg.
Innovation
Jobs’ had a remarkable record of innovation at Apple. At Facebook Zuckerberg is innovating as fast as Jobs did at Apple.
Culture Of Success
Jobs build a culture of success at Apple. Zuckerberg has done the same at Facebook.
Lifestyle Products/Services
Apple succeeded by producing lifestyle products that consumers use every day. Facebook has done the same with social networking.
Ability To Rapidly Scale
Apple was able to rapidly scale its sales of iPods, iPhones, and iPads across the globe.
It is well known that the biggest challenge Facebook faces is the transition to the mobile wave. After Facebook’s latest quarterly earnings report, I listened to the conference call. The statistic that caught my attention was the ramp up from zero to $350 million of mobile revenues in just three quarters…Read more at Forbes
