2019 Predictions by Morning Brew

2019 Predictions by Morning Brew

Amazon's shopping spree

Apparently Jeff Bezos's Whole Foods food baby is wearing off. And with nearly $30 billion in cash on hand at the end of Q3, Amazon could be on the hunt for its next industry-rattling acquisition.

Some of your suggestions for Bezos? Lyft, Target, "a bank," Facebook, Sears, Kmart, Warby Parker, an airline, and StubHub. We'll be honest—some of these are more realistic than others.

Speaking of realistic expectations, here's one Amazon prediction we couldn't not include...

• "Bezos and Musk will reach a deal merging Amazon and SpaceX. There will be a massive project to send the first space colonizing human civilization on track to Andromeda."
• "During production...they will discover a massive asteroid on track to destroy Earth as we know it. [editor's note: you start to lose us here.] President Trump declares a state of 'Merica 'Mergency. POTUS assembles his most talented Space Force to embark on a suicide mission to redirect the asteroid...Bruce Willis, Ben Affleck, and Kanye West..."

Winter is coming for stocks

Not a ton of optimism to go around, huh? After some market-churning Fed drama and a late-year slump, many of you think 2019 will bring the same tough love for the markets.

• "Slight market correction but very volatile swing in stocks...In the longer term, student loan debt will start to become an increasing burden."
• "Inflation will spike and the market will dive deeper into recession..."

• "The Fed reverses its course and doesn't raise interest rates in the first quarter of 2019. The recession everyone says won't happen comes into play putting a damper on July 4th fireworks."

Disclaimer: Trying to predict the whims of the stock market is about as futile as trying not to laugh at Monty Python's stock market report.

Big Tech troubles are here to stay

Facebook, Google, Amazon, and others got smacked around by both the public and lawmakers in 2018. But everyone's most worried about Facebook in 2019...

• "I think we will see the end of Facebook as we know it. The platform is far too large for an all-out collapse, but the controversy around Zuck and Sheryl Sandberg in the Western world will lead to some huge changes in strategy, structure, and possibly even who stays in corporate power."
• "No way Zuck gets his mojo back. I think this is a snowball that has only just begun rolling down the hill."

And while we're here, let's quickly recap some of the big tech M&A you're predicting for 2019.

• "Yes, Apple will buy Sony. Long shot: Apple may even buy IBM in order to be a player in the cloud...and also buy IBM's patent portfolio, as well as make a major play into the enterprise market."
• "Snapchat will be acquired. Most likely by Amazon or Disney, as they seek to gain appeal with the younger teen generation."

Here are some other (miscellaneous) predictions worth including

• "Plant-based meats are going to take off in 2019 and beyond. Impossible Foods, JUST Foods, and Beyond Meat FTW."
• "I wouldn't be surprised to see plenty more scandals pop up over the course of 2019. That being said, I think we might start to see more funding, prominence, and success for companies with a more humanitarian focus. Whether it be by preserving nature and taking care of the planet, or by helping raise the standard of living, companies focused on bettering society will get a lot of headline space, and in turn, hopefully, start to grow and thrive."
• "Legalization of sports betting brings a new sector of tech boom. Prop bets galore mixed with advanced stats."
• "Disney's new OTT platform rollout will be more competitive with Netflix than people think. They have the content and brand to generate massive subscriber growth off the bat. Netflix will have to buckle up for a serious battle, as Disney's going to be a legitimate threat."

And finally the Brew, up and to the right

We knew you guys were worth keeping around. Your predictions for Morning Brew warmed our cold, HTML-coded hearts.

• "Morning Brew IPOs...at an initial valuation of $500 billion in early July and closes out the year at over $1 trillion."
• "The Brew will have the most successful IPO of 2019. By December YOU will buy Amazon ;)"
• "Morning Brew goes public. Valuation: $4.20 billion."

Here's to a more caffeinated inbox, easier brain teasers, and a 2019 even better than 2018.

Wishing you all the best,

Brew Crew