Thoughts on the Market: October Edition

Where we were wrong on tech and the path forward. 

Written by Jamie Murray, CFA 

Our position at the beginning of this year was that mega-cap technology companies would be relatively insulated from the economic effects of 2022. As we wrote in our 2022 Outlook, we were of the opinion that revenue would still increase off a large base after accelerating through Covid. Moreover, we felt that capital spending could be reined in on low-priority projects, allowing sufficient free cash flow to support stock prices through share buybacks. As well, valuation multiples were in line with the prior decade, and we felt that balance sheet flexibility would act as a buffer to weather any downturn. Read