“Never invest in a business
you can’t understand.”
Warren Buffet

Rene Marius Köhler has been investing in international internet companies such as Amazon, Meta, Alphabet and Apple since 2008. These companies have become market leaders in their respective segments due to their highly successful business models. Identifying these types of success stories – both in established as well as young, up-and-coming companies – forms the core of our investment process.

Amazon

Amazon Logo

Business model: Amazon has set itself the goal of becoming the most customer-oriented company in the world. To this end, the Group operates one of the world’s most successful platform economies, which is monetised via multidimensional business models. Amazon’s businesses focus on the retail of consumer products and an array of subscription models. The Group uses its online platforms and physical stores to sell its own merchandise, merchandise from retailers and digital content from third-party producers. This also includes its own electronic devices, such as the Kindle Reader, the Fire Tablet, Fire TVs or Echo devices (Alexa). In addition, there are programmes that enable partners to distribute their content via Amazon’s platforms. Finally, Amazon Web Services (AWS) makes the company the largest cloud computing provider in the world at the present time.

Product mix: Amazon divides its activities into three segments. North America, International and AWS. The Group continues to generate the lion’s share of its sales revenues (61%) in North America. International is also responsible for about 23% of the proceeds. Although Amazon Web Services only contributed 16% to sales revenues, it is considered to be an important growth market for the company with its latest growth rate at 29% (North America 13%; International -8%).

Selected key facts:

  • AWS is the market leader in the global cloud business (with sales revenues of USD 62.2 billion, market share of approx. 21%)
  • A fourfold increase in TAM is expected in cloud business; forecast CAGR for AWS 20’30′: 14.1%
  • Global number 1 in e-commerce, worldwide market share: 13.0% (2020) (North America 37.9%)
  • TAM Retail e-Commerce Global USD 6,310 billion in 2023; expected CAGR to 23’27’: 14.7%
  • More than 3 million merchants on Amazon Marketplace
  • 2.4 billion visits per month
  • Performance 04/2020 – 02/2023, currency adjusted in EUR: -2.33%

Meta (formerly Facebook)

Meta Logo

Business model: Facebook runs a platform economy consisting of various products for networking and displaying digital content on smartphones, computers and other end devices. Its product portfolio includes the social media platform “Facebook”, the digital community “Instagram” and the “Messenger” and “WhatsApp” messenger services. The Group also markets a hardware, software and development ecosystem that connects people virtually via “Oculus” virtual reality glasses.

Product mix: Facebook generates the majority of its sales revenue through advertising income (98.9%). To date, a marginal amount of sales revenue has come from payment services and other revenue streams (0.9%). These other revenue streams also include Oculus sales. Geographically, Facebook’s home market, the USA, accounts for the majority of its sales, with the remainder divided between the regions of Europe, Asia-Pacific and the rest of the world.

Selected key facts:

  • Facebook (#1), WhatsApp (#3), Instagram (#4), Messenger (#7) are internationally leading social media solutions (based on number of users)
  • WhatsApp is the world’s leading messaging service with 2.0 billion MAU (=Monthly Active Users)
  • The entire Group has 3.74 billion MAU (Q4/22); Instagram has around 1.0 billion MAU (Q4/22)
  • 100 billion WhatsApp messages are sent per day worldwide
  • Operating cash flow CAGR 20’22′: 18.9%
  • Meta revenue forecast: CAGR 24‘27‘: 11.23%; USD 656.8 billion (Source: UBS Research)
  • Average Revenue per User (ARPU) worldwide $10.86; CAGR 11’22’: 20.6%
  • Performance 04/2020 – 02/2023, currency adjusted in EUR: +6.63%

Alphabet

Alphabet Logo

Business model: Alphabet is #1 in the advertising market with Google, Android, YouTube and a range of moonshots. Alphabet holds more personal data about us than arguably any other company (or government) in the world: Google search history, Googlemail, Google Maps, Google Chrome provide the sources for this data collection. YouTube is the current no. 1 in video streaming and is almost four times more popular than Netflix with over 2.1 billion monthly active users (MAU). The Group is currently aiming to disrupt a whole range of other industries with Waymo, Project Loon and Deepmind (among others). Mobility, health, AI and internet connections are all on the agenda.

Product mix: Alphabet reports on three business segments, Google Services, Google Cloud, and Other Bets, with 89.2% of sales revenues generated by Google Services to date. Google Services includes the business segments Ads (advertising system), Android (smartphone operating system), Chrome (browser), Hardware (Google Pixel, Chrome Cast), Google Maps (map and navigation services), Google Play (video game solutions), YouTube (video portal) and Search (search engine). Google Cloud includes the infrastructure and platform services, collaboration tools and other services for business customers. Other Bets consists of Alphabet’s equity investments in Access & Energy (energy & internet access – Google Fiber), Calico (biotechnology), CapitalG (venture company), Deepmind (artificial intelligence), Jigzaw (technology incubator for geopolitical challenges), GV (venture capital), Nest (smart homes), SideWalk (urban innovation – smart cities), Waymo (autonomous driving), Verily (biotechnology) and X (research company). All three segments are still experiencing strong growth (YoY growth 20’21’ by Google Services: 39.0%; Google Cloud: 46.2%; Google other Bets: 53.8%). However, Other Bets is still generating negative earnings contributions (2022: -6.1 billion USD), while Google Services has achieved operating income margins of over 34.2%.

Selected key facts:

  • 3.5 billion searches and over 1 billion hours of YouTube watched per day
  • YouTube is the number 2 social network based on MAUs
  • Market share among search engines: 87.6% for mobile and 84.7% for desktop applications
  • Average search queries per user: 3-4x per day
  • CAGR advertising revenues ’23’27: 9.46%
  • Performance 04/2020 – 02/2023, currency adjusted in EUR: +59.59%

Apple

Logo Apple

Business model: Apple is a hardware, software and technology company that develops and sells computers, smartphones, tablets, consumer electronics, operating systems and application software. The Group also operates an internet sales portal for music, films and software (iTunes Store and App Store) and a cloud service for private and business customers. These are currently the world’s largest sales channels for digital goods. The launch of Apple’s iPhone laid the foundations for a boom in the smartphone and tablet computer markets, which has continued to this day.

Product mix: Apple reports in the following segments: “Products” and “Services”, with 82.3% of total revenue generated by Apple hardware sales and 17.7% from services. Out of all of the Group’s products, the iPhone alone accounts for 68.2% of sales revenues from products (Macs – 8.0%; iPads – 9.8%; wearables – 13.9%).

Selected key facts:

  • Market share of worldwide smartphone sales is above 24.1%
  • iOS operating system accounts for a market share of more than 16.2%
  • Market share of iPad tablets is over 49.2%; market share of Apple wearables: 30% (Q4/22); market share of Macs: 10.7%
  • iTunes, Software and Services revenue amounts to USD 20.76 billion (17.7% of total revenue)
  • 78 million Apple Music subscribers (06/21)
  • Research and development expenditures in 2022: USD 26.3 billion
  • 51.4% of all Americans own an Apple product (11/22)
  • Currently the largest company in the world by market capitalisation of USD 2.65 trillion (as of 01/22)
  • Performance 04/2020 – 02/2023, currency adjusted in EUR: +135.44%