Tiktok

Instagram is adding shopping capabilities to its four-month-old Reels product. The TikTok clone is the latest feature from the Facebook ( NASDAQ:FB ) subsidiary to add the ability to learn more about products featured in posts and buy them right in the app. Shopping is also an area of interest for TikTok, and it's partnering with Shopify to add more capabilities to its own platform. But Facebook's growing focus on commerce across its family of apps allowed it to beat TikTok to the punch. Image source: Instagram. Short-form shopping The idea of finding shopping inspiration in short 15-second videos isn't new. TikTok's Chinese counterpart, Douyin, is already loaded with e-commerce features, and it's growing rapidly. ByteDance, TikTok and Douyin's parent company, expects 150 billion yuan (about $23 billion) in gross merchandise volume to flow through Douyin this year. That's why Walmart wanted to buy a minority stake in TikTok when it looked like the U.S. …

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Facebook ( NASDAQ:FB ) was one of the most hated tech companies of 2020. It was pilloried by various groups for its failure to halt the spread of hate speech, violent content, and fake news, and some of those missteps actually sparked an advertising boycott. CEO Mark Zuckerberg was questioned and criticized by Congress, and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), as well as 46 state attorneys general, recently sued Facebook for anticompetitive practices -- and could force it to divest its subsidiaries. Apple 's latest iOS update could also make it harder for Facebook and other advertisers to accumulate user data. But amid all that chaos and a pandemic-induced slowdown in ad sales, Facebook marched on. Its revenue rose 17% year over year in the first nine months of 2020, its net income surged 61%, and its stock price has risen 33% over the past year. Image source: Facebook. Analysts expect Facebook's revenue and earnings to rise by 19% and 45%, respectively, this year. …

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The COVID-19 pandemic has unleashed an economic malaise the likes of which we have not witnessed since the Great Recession in 2008 and 2009. Entire industries such as airlines and hotels are feeling the heat as demand plunges amid a slew of lockdowns and border closures enacted by governments around the world to contain the spread of the coronavirus. These trying times are enough to stress out any investor as job losses pile up and companies report plunging sales and profits. It is precisely times like these that make us question what we think we know, as the world around us undergoes irreversible change. Many aspects of human behavior have been altered as the pandemic forces people to change their daily routines, habits, and practices. Working from home has become more widespread, and more people are ordering takeout or deliveries from restaurants rather than dining in. Amid all this change, here are two stocks whose business models I believe will not be adversely affected. In …

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