A poster on SA linked this helpful site that analyzes users of ubnt.com and tracks usage, shows where users are from, how they find the site, etc. Given that the user community would be core users, it gives you an idea of how many users there are and where they are located. See here: https://www.similarweb.com/website/ubnt.com#overview
On the negative side, a prominent reviewer came out with a mixed review of FrontRow. He gave UBNT for great design and engineering, but the high price and limited market for streaming overshadowed the positives. See review here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnMk-Fl-_SA&feature=yout…
The review is mixed, but there are already 27K views and it was posted today, so definitely a lot of eyeballs at least seeing the product. It wasn’t all negative and for consumers with a higher budget, it may still lead to more potential buyers.
Luckily, FrontRow does not need to be a success and they continue to improve their core products line:
Also I can vouch for Troy Hunt, he’s widely respected. He regularly peaks at software conferences on security and I have heard him on about 10 podcast episodes.
And another FrontRow review is out today and it is a lot more positive. This one is by Jonathan Morrison who has 2.1M followers on his YouTube channel and after only being posted about 2 hours, it has over 26K views. See review here:
I think Morrison’s more positive review will end up having more views given that he has more than 4 times as many YouTube subscribers. I think Fisher points (high price point and not a lot of people do livestreaming) are valid and will likely limit the market size of potential buyers. Still, GoPro has over $1B in revenue for action cams, so if FrontRow can capture even 5-10% of this amount of revenue, it would be a big success in my view. UniFi and their core network products are always going to be the main driver of revenue, but if FrontRow can add a little to it then it will make beating 2018 guidance that much easier.
Based on what I have read and seen on FrontRow, the design and engineering is really good and shows the talent level of the R&D team. I think UBNT will continue to experiment and try new things, which is great and a page out of Amazon’s playbook. If they fail, it is not a big deal, but they could find a product that meaningfully adds to revenue.
For those worried about FrontRow being a distraction, I don’t think this is a significant risk. FrontRow and AmpliFi came out of Ubiquit Labs, which was formed last year to go after the consumer market. This is totally different team than the teams that work on UniFi.
I have also noticed that the stock price over the last 2 days has fallen to below 57 only to rally toward the end of the day. My instinct is that UBNT is buying back shares and taking advantage of the cheap price. Buying back shares on the cheap is a great way to allocate capital given that they have great cash flows and don’t pay a dividend. I hope they use up most of the $50M buyback authorization prior to the next earnings announcement in early November.
I think Morrison’s more positive review will end up having more views given that he has more than 4 times as many YouTube subscribers. I think Fisher points (high price point and not a lot of people do livestreaming) are valid and will likely limit the market size of potential buyers. Still, GoPro has over $1B in revenue for action cams, so if FrontRow can capture even 5-10% of this amount of revenue, it would be a big success in my view. UniFi and their core network products are always going to be the main driver of revenue, but if FrontRow can add a little to it then it will make beating 2018 guidance that much easier.
Based on what I have read and seen on FrontRow, the design and engineering is really good and shows the talent level of the R&D team. I think UBNT will continue to experiment and try new things, which is great and a page out of Amazon’s playbook. If they fail, it is not a big deal, but they could find a product that meaningfully adds to revenue
I like UBNT and think the price is good here, but I think FrontRow is stupid. The pictures of it I saw were a pendant worn around your neck so you don’t have to hold a phone in your hand. Ok, picture all the places where you can where a phone around your neck and it sees something besides the back of the person in ront of you. Concert? no. Parade? no. Football game. No. I just can’t see this catching on in mass unless everyone wants to record their boring, everyday life, which unfortunately people do. Sell me on this, because I think it is a zero value proposition. That said, I am still about to buy some.