The small companies snapping at Big Tech’s heels

The technology giants have had a good crisis. The small fry have been doing even better, says Matthew Lynn.

Amazon package on a converyor belt © G
Amazon is up by 33% since the start of the year – but that's nothing compared to some smaller companies © Getty
(Image credit: Amazon package on a converyor belt © G)

If there is one thing that seems clear about the Covid-19 crisis, it is that it has been won by Big Tech. From Amazon to Netflix to Facebook and Google, we have relied more and more on the giants of the internet. And they will emerge from the crisis more powerful than ever. But is this really true?

As the economy went into lockdown, the more of your portfolio you had invested in technology shares, the better. Apple, Microsoft and Amazon all quickly recovered from the initial stockmarket slump and went back up above the $1trn market value level and their peers were not far behind. Amazon is up by 33% since the start of the year and has been hitting fresh all-time highs, while Apple is up 13%. It’s been an impressive performance.

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Matthew Lynn

Matthew Lynn is a columnist for Bloomberg, and writes weekly commentary syndicated in papers such as the Daily Telegraph, Die Welt, the Sydney Morning Herald, the South China Morning Post and the Miami Herald. He is also an associate editor of Spectator Business, and a regular contributor to The Spectator. Before that, he worked for the business section of the Sunday Times for ten years. 

He has written books on finance and financial topics, including Bust: Greece, The Euro and The Sovereign Debt Crisis and The Long Depression: The Slump of 2008 to 2031. Matthew is also the author of the Death Force series of military thrillers and the founder of Lume Books, an independent publisher.