Microsoft (MSFT) ended Skype’s two-decade-old era by announcing its shutdown. The firm bought Skype for $8.5 billion 14 years ago. It will retire the service this May. The firm will encourage Skype users to migrate to the Teams app, which is free.
Skype lost its way long ago. Meta Platforms (META) owns WhatsApp, which took Skype’s market share. Zoom (ZM) surged in popularity during the pandemic, taking Cisco Systems’ (CSCO) Webex market.
Unfortunately, Skype’s simplicity loses out to Teams, which is resource-hungry. MSFT stock closed down 2.75% last week and down by 10.25% last month.
Alphabet’s (GOOG) Google continued to cut costs to lift its profitability. The firm is cutting jobs in its human resources division. The firm previously cut staff within the cloud unit. Several teams saw a cut in support and operations staff. GOOG stock is fairly valued at a P/E of 21.4 times. The firm needs to post profit growth to attract investors.
In the cryptocurrency market, watch Bitcoin (BTC-USD). BTC peaked at over $100,000 and traded below $80,000 on Feb. 27. The SEC dismissed or paused several cases against crypto firms. More aggressive investors may consider XRP. In the last year, Ripple prices more than doubled (+257%).
