Many Americans had lifestyle changes during the pandemic, from March 2000 to the present. For example, I quit the YMCA (exercise classes 4 days a week) and started doing exercise classes over Zoom, which I had never heard of before (6 days a week).
The surge has dramatically declined. People are picking up their normal lives again. Stocks of companies that surged during the pandemic are dropping.
**These Stocks Got Hot During the Pandemic. Now They’re Cooling.** **Companies such as Zoom and Etsy face new challenges as people leave their homes and return to work** **By Francesca Fontana and Hardika Singh, The Wall Street Journal, April 23, 2022**
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This article discusses 10 companies whose share prices ballooned from the end of 2019 to the pandemic peak but are now below the pandemic peak. The most extreme are Netflix and PayPal which have dropped well below their 2019 price. Some are below their pandemic peak but above the 2019 price – Moderna, Zoom, Etsy. Some grew strongly during the pandemic but are now down to their 2019 price - Clorox, Domino’s Pizza, Peloton. Campbell’s soup had very little change through this period.
On the opposite side, We’ve seen the comments about cruise companies - CCL, RCL, NCLH, etc - stocks rebounding as covid fear subsides.
Add this one?
SABR provides software and technology solutions for the travel industry worldwide. It operates in two segments, Travel Solutions and Hospitality Solutions.
Some bullish news on Netflix: I was able to start a one-month subscription in February. (For some reason, Netflix was rejecting my credit card payments before. I tried again in February, just after my month of Paramount Plus was over, and my payment finally went through. Netflix must have done something to resolve my issue.)
I’m hooked on Squid Game, Alice in Borderland, and The Silent Sea. Future seasons will keep me coming back in future winters. I may end up hooked on other Netflix-exclusive shows, which will give me even more reason to subscribe. All that excellent exclusive content is a great business model. (Admittedly, all the bullish news may already be reflected in the stock price.)
Of course, the potential bearish news is the possibility that year-round subscribers will decide to save money by becoming sporadic subscribers.
I subscribe to these streaming services only during the colder months of the year. I subscribe to just one at a time, and I rotate each month. Each service has more content I want to watch than anyone can possibly have time to watch in a month.
I’m surprised that more people don’t do what I do. I’m surprised that everyone complains that there are too many streaming services, as if they were obligated to subscribe to each one year-round and simultaneously.
Juts because certain people declare the pandemic to be over doesn’t mean it’s over.
The wastewater viral loads don’t say that the pandemic is over. The unvaccinated aren’t rushing to get vaccinated. The unboosted aren’t rushing to get boosted. Case numbers are a lagging indicator, and cutbacks in official testing are likely deflating the figures. Hospitalizations, ICU admissions, and deaths lag even further behind.
I subscribe to these streaming services only during the colder months of the year. I subscribe to just one at a time, and I rotate each month. Each service has more content I want to watch than anyone can possibly have time to watch in a month.
I’m surprised that more people don’t do what I do
People are doing what you’re doing. That’s why the stock price is down 70% off the peak.
I subscribe to these streaming services only during the colder months of the year. I subscribe to just one at a time, and I rotate each month. Each service has more content I want to watch than anyone can possibly have time to watch in a month.
Coming soon: the pricing mechanism that helps the services not care if you do that.
More expensive per month, less expensive if you commit to some reasonable period of time. Amazon Prime, TiVo, Bloomberg and lots of others do this. Sure, they’d rather have you longer term, but if you want to go short they’ll gouge you to make it worth their while.
