From NYC to Beijing... Big Tech earnings season is (almost) over. This month, Wall Street's "Big Tech 5" – Apple, Amazon, Google, Microsoft, and Facebook – demolished results with back-to-back records. Still, the techy Nasdaq index is up just 6% this year — half of the S&P 500 and the Dow's gains. Now, we're looking at China, to see how the world’s other tech epicenter stacked up:
You've been warned... For years, Chinese tech titans were seen as untouchable sources of national pride. This year, China has been cracking down. China ordered 34 of the country's largest tech cos, including TikTok-owner ByteDance, to comply with anti-monopoly laws or face “severe punishment." The scrutiny is hitting companies where it hurts: their share prices and balance sheets.
China is a window... Despite strong earnings, tech stocks are on the struggle bus. While Chinese and US regulation are very different, China's crackdown begs the question of how intervention might change in the US — where it’s been much more light-handed. Antitrust scrutiny is rising, and President Biden’s FTC pick Lina Khan is a well-known tech critic. While US regulation isn’t likely to look like China’s, more intervention doesn’t seem far-fetched.