Big Tech companies experience a decline due to Covid-19

The largest and most dominant companies in the information technology industry, also known as Big Tech, are experiencing a decline due to Covid-19. These firms include Google, Amazon, Facebook, Apple and Microsoft (GAFAM). Their decrease not only refers to the stock market, but also to the fact that retailers could face a shortage of supplies if these firms do not get back to normal business soon.

What is now a pandemic first began in Wuhan, a city in China, a country that is just now starting to recover. This fact plays a relevant role in how coronavirus is turning the Big Tech upside down. The reason is simple: much of the world’s technology is made fully or partially in this country, which exports billions of dollars of goods every year.

All GAFAM companies have been very successful in the market for years, but their profit has been severely affected since the rise of coronavirus. Once their share value drops, their supply is at stake, and so do their sales. This is because they are part of the list of the top ten technology companies in the world, according to the Forbes Global 2000 list published in 2019, which is based on a composite score of revenue, profits, assets, market value and annual sales.

The case of Apple

On March 13, Tim Cook, the chief executive officer of Apple, posted a statement on the firm’s website.  The declaration explains the path that the company has decided to go through in order to help eradicate the virus. First of all, Cook highlighted “Apple’s committed donations to the global Covid-19 response”, which “today reached $15 million worldwide”. However, the biggest news that Cook delivered was that “we will be closing all of our retail stores outside of Greater China until March 27”. This is due to the fact that “the rate of infections has dramatically declined” in this country.

Screenshot of a segment of Apple’s statement about the measures taken regarding Covid-19.