Nothing But Net summary

When you hear the phrase “high quality tech stocks,” which names come to mind? Amazon, Google, Facebook, Netflix – these are all big names with impressive track records. 

As an investor in tech stocks, you’re probably seeking safe options. Maybe even a guarantee of a good return. 

But, unfortunately, in the world of stocks, there are no guarantees.

Even the best stocks can go wrong. And, yes, that includes the big names. In recent years, Amazon, Google, Facebook, and Netflix have all experienced “stock market corrections” – significant decreases in the market price of their stocks.

Take, for example, Netflix in June 2018. Wall Street was expecting 1.2 million new subscribers in the US. But the company added fewer than 700,000 subscribers. As a result, Netflix suffered a massive 40 percent correction.

Big, successful companies sometimes make missteps. Other times, they’re at the whim of external factors beyond their control. That’s what happened to Amazon in 2018. At the time, President Trump was involved in a trade war with China, and global economic growth was slowing down. It wasn’t Amazon’s fault, but these global events led to the company losing a third of its value due to a market sell-off.

The point is, it’s hard to forecast the future. The world is unpredictable, and so are stocks. This is something all investors have to be prepared for.

Mark Mahaney is a highly experienced tech analyst, but even he makes mistakes now and then. For instance, in 2017 he recommended that investors buy shares in the meal kit company Blue Apron. He’d done his research and was feeling confident about the company.

But then, within months, the company was falling apart, and the share price plummeted. Any investor who’d bought shares in Blue Apron on Mahaney’s recommendation lost 93 percent of their stake. And he’s an expert!

With stocks, there’s no such thing as a sure thing. From time to time, you’ll learn that the hard way. You will pick the wrong stocks. And the only thing you can do about it is to prepare for these setbacks.

In Mahaney’s nearly 25 years of analyzing tech stocks on Wall Street, he’s learned a thing or two. We’ll go over his key strategies so you, too, can improve your chances of success – although, remember, there are no guarantees!