Constellation Research Principal Analyst & Founder Ray Wang said in an interview that it is time to take a closer look at who should be viewed as being at the top of the Big-Tech food chain.
For a long time, the acronym representing the biggest names was FAANG, which stood for Facebook (now Meta), Apple, Amazon, Netflix, and Google (now Alphabet). Wang however argues it is time to reorganize the hierarchy, and the new Acronym should be MATANA, standing for Microsoft (MSFT), Apple (AAPL), Tesla (TSLA), Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL), Nvidia (NVDA), and Amazon (AMZN).
FAANG was first coined by Jim Cramer in 2013, when those companies were viewed as newcomers who had exploded on the scene, and would likely dominate the tech sector for years to come based off their momentum. But now Wang says Netflix looks to have peaked with little growth on the horizon and competitors springing out of the woodwork, and Meta especially is floundering, and in need of a new plan.
In the interview he said, “Facebook has got to do something besides ads. Once again, they’re taking a beating for it. So, is it going to be the glasses? Is it going to be the metaverse? We’re not there yet and that’s really kind of what the challenge is.”
And he noted Netflix’s subscription model is not likely to attract more users going forward, and they need to look at other options. He went on, “The reason they’re out is because, how many more subscribers? How many more subscriptions are you going to handle? Product placement should be where they are, plus the ability to do IP licensing. Look at how Disney makes its money.”
He also noted Microsoft’s prominence, and diversity of projects means it has to be considered as one of the top tech firms, and included in the group. “Microsoft has more than just business-to-business and consumer – they’ve been able to manage both,” he noted. “They’re positioned well for the metaverse. They’re positioned well for the cloud and, of course, they’ve got their gaming business.”
Finally he notes, you have to pay attention to Tesla. And Nvidia is posed to dominate the chip market with their newer technologies. “Nvidia is a lot more than just the chips that we look at and more than the data center or gaming. They’re sitting at the edge between AI, the metaverse, the future of computing, and the way they do their partnerships, they’re set up in a way that’s going to be dominant for quite some time.”
