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The big difference between now and 2001 is that we aren't seeing a lot of tech companies completely fail and go out of business like we did then.

time_to_smile 4y ago
That's because this bubble is much larger than the dotcom and has impacted far more than just tech (lookup "Everything Bubble"). A major part of this is companies still have a lot of cash. When you pull up the financials for many newly IPO'd companies you'll see that many of them have questionable ability to ever generate profit, and most certainly not at the size they are at. However all of them have pretty healthy cash reserves from the (obviously overvalued) IPOs they just went through. Facebook/Meta was the poster-child for "don't worry about profit, just worry about growth!" For years it was assumed that Facebook proved this strategy made sense, but even today we're seeing this giant falter. Even if Facebook pulls it off, it doesn't mean that many of the "growth is all that matters!" startups following in its shadow will. We'll see companies fail, but this bubble will take a lot longer to unwind than the dotcom bubble.
- lancesells 4y ago
  Meta had $23B in profit last year.
- disgruntledphd2 4y ago
  Facebook was definitely not the poster child for this, they have been running profitably since well before their IPO. Sheryl Sandberg did a great job building that business. I think Uber might be a better example of the strategy you're referring to.
- flashgordon 4y ago
  Also unlike back in the day, this set of layoffs feel/looks largely opportunistic as a way to kowtow to wall st. The veil is off. Companies are unashamedly open about who they are in bed with. Agree the bubble is inflation induced and the fed is trying to demand more unemployment to cut down spending. Wouldn't an alternative be investing in public infrastructure/housing projects instead? I do feel very frustrated and ignorant at not being able to grasp this entangled web all the while normalizing the blood letting and sacrifice of real human livelihood for the sole enrichment of wall st.
delfinom 4y ago
The other difference is that tech is an actual important part of everyday business and life for everyone. 2001 was still really early for everything.
fzzzy 4y ago
Coming soon.
vogt 4y ago
Pets.com and eToys say hello!
cargotoml 4y ago
We kind of did. It was all the bitcoins, NFT and other blockchain related companies.
re-thc 4y ago
Not yet... don't jinx it.

time_to_smile 4y ago

That's because this bubble is much larger than the dotcom and has impacted far more than just tech (lookup "Everything Bubble"). A major part of this is companies still have a lot of cash. When you pull up the financials for many newly IPO'd companies you'll see that many of them have questionable ability to ever generate profit, and most certainly not at the size they are at. However all of them have pretty healthy cash reserves from the (obviously overvalued) IPOs they just went through. Facebook/Meta was the poster-child for "don't worry about profit, just worry about growth!" For years it was assumed that Facebook proved this strategy made sense, but even today we're seeing this giant falter. Even if Facebook pulls it off, it doesn't mean that many of the "growth is all that matters!" startups following in its shadow will. We'll see companies fail, but this bubble will take a lot longer to unwind than the dotcom bubble.

lancesells 4y ago
Meta had $23B in profit last year.
disgruntledphd2 4y ago
Facebook was definitely not the poster child for this, they have been running profitably since well before their IPO. Sheryl Sandberg did a great job building that business. I think Uber might be a better example of the strategy you're referring to.
flashgordon 4y ago
Also unlike back in the day, this set of layoffs feel/looks largely opportunistic as a way to kowtow to wall st. The veil is off. Companies are unashamedly open about who they are in bed with. Agree the bubble is inflation induced and the fed is trying to demand more unemployment to cut down spending. Wouldn't an alternative be investing in public infrastructure/housing projects instead? I do feel very frustrated and ignorant at not being able to grasp this entangled web all the while normalizing the blood letting and sacrifice of real human livelihood for the sole enrichment of wall st.

delfinom 4y ago

The other difference is that tech is an actual important part of everyday business and life for everyone. 2001 was still really early for everything.

fzzzy 4y ago

Coming soon.

vogt 4y ago

Pets.com and eToys say hello!

cargotoml 4y ago

We kind of did. It was all the bitcoins, NFT and other blockchain related companies.

re-thc 4y ago

Not yet... don't jinx it.