Recent events surrounding online privacy relating to the release of massive amounts of user data to research firms such as Cambridge Analytica have impacted the stock prices of tech firms across the board. Originally emanating from reports that data leaked from social media giant Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ:FB) had impacted the U.S. presidential election in 2016, technology companies handling the data of millions of consumers have been placed under greater scrutiny by investors and financial markets, as pundits attempt to place a value on data integrity and privacy-first cultures at various firms.
In watching the market turmoil unfold in recent trading days, seeing a broad sector-based selloff take place has spurred questions of which babies have been thrown out with the bathwater, so to speak. One of my top picks for some time now has been Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), a company which has placed less of a focus on compiling the data of consumers and selling advertising to a large consumer base, while relying on more traditional hardware sales and physical product quality, putting this firm in a fundamentally different segment altogether.
The risk profiles of firms such as Apple and other companies such as Facebook, Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) or Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) are as different as the unique business models of these companies, business models which I contend are likely to continue to provide companies such as Apple with a fundamental advantage for the foreseeable future.
Invest wisely, my friends.
