Facebook Stock Pops on Shops Concept

August 27, 2020

Facebook Inc (NASDAQ: FB) saw its shares pop 8.2% as the company launched its new Facebook Shops concept and with the company receiving an analyst upgrade.

The social media giant’s push into e-commerce looks to leverage its near-2 billion users, with a focus on small- and medium-sized businesses.

The company is likely to see success in this area. With a user base of over 2 billion to tap, who wouldn’t succeed?

Personally, I’ve never been a fan of Mark Zuckerberg or Facebook’s offering – I don’t think of him as a visionary in the same mold as a Elon Musk or Microsoft’s Satya Nadella.

Taking the tack of “investing in a future I want to see”, a concept inspired by The Motley Fool’s co-founder David Garder, I certainly don’t want to see a future where Facebook dominates the cultural conversation.

I view Mr Zuckerberg as entirely dishonest – Facebook’s track record of protecting data and privacy speaks for itself (Cambridge Analytica, anyone?).

And cloning competitors’ product offerings, as he has done multiple times, displays a unique lack of innovation.

That’s not to say long-term investors won’t be able to make money in Facebook. Clearly, they have but whether they’ll continue to is another question entirely. 

But for me, the regulatory risks (especially on the anti-trust front as Facebook continues to get bigger) mean I won’t be investing in it any time soon.

This material is categorised as non-independent for the purposes of CGS-CIMB Securities (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. and its affiliates (collectively “CGS-CIMB”) and therefore does not provide an impartial or objective assessment of the subject matter and does not constitute independent research. Consequently, this material has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of research. Therefore, this material is considered a marketing communication.

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Tim Phillips

Tim, based in Singapore but from Hong Kong, caught the investing bug as a teenager and is a passionate advocate of responsible long-term investing as a great way to build wealth.

He has worked in various content roles at Schroders and the Motley Fool, with a focus on Asian stocks, but believes in buying great businesses – wherever they may be. He is also a certified SGX Academy Trainer.

In his spare time, Tim enjoys running after his two young sons, playing football and practicing yoga.

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