Yahoo Finance ‘A simply awful business’: This e-scooter company went from $2B to bankrupt in two years — here are three slow-building companies that won't fail you
As a multibillion-dollar startup, the e-scooter company Bird got investors plenty excited when it went public in late 2021.
But as feathered things in finance go, it plummeted faster than a flightless dodo. Worth more than $2 billion at its IPO, Bird fell to $70 million 12 months later, was delisted from the New York Stock Exchange in September — and was bankrupt by December 2023.
Oh, the Bird droppings.
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Bird had “too good to be true” stamped all over it from the start. CEO Travis VanderZanden was an exec at Uber, infamous for one of the worst IPOs of all time.
Even as far back as May 2021, a pair of TechCrunch writers looked at Bird's paperwork with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and concluded: "Historically — and based on what we’re seeing in this fantastical filing — Bird proved to be a simply awful business... a company with a huge cost structure and unprofitable revenue."
Still, high-flying venture capitalists and common investors alike got swept up in Bird fever, losing big. If you want to avoid the same fate with your money, here's a quick look at three companies that have the stuff to fly far higher (and stronger) for longer.
1. Genuine Parts Co. (NYSE:GPC): A dividend king becoming a growth stock
Just as people need to eat, they need to keep their cars running — and GPC has been in business for a century, providing automotive parts through its NAPA brand name.
Come recession or inflation, and especially with soaring new car prices, this company isn’t about to see demand for its products go away. And for 67 consecutive years, GPC has increased its dividend — giving it one of the longest streaks of annual dividend raises in the U.S. stock market.
Arguably, GPC was punished excessively for missing analyst projections in the third quarter, as the stock dropped close to 13% on Oct. 18. Yet, Zacks Investment Research has named GPC a top growth stock for the long term, based on projections that the company will see year-over-year earnings growth of 11.3% for the current fiscal year.
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2. Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD): Chips that don’t dip
Those fortunate enough to invest in Advanced Micro Devices in 2023 have seen their investment in the chipmaker rise close to 140%, per Google stock chart measurements. Two big news stories that year told the story.
In February, shares soared nearly 7% when the company sidestepped a PC slump that wounded the likes of rival Intel with gains in the lucrative data center market. And on Dec. 7, AMD shares surged almost 10% after the chipmaker launched its new MI300 AI chip, with Microsoft, Meta and OpenAI all set to use it, Investopedia reported.
That’s not to say AMD has swooped in from out of nowhere. In business since 1969, AMD has seen its shares skyrocket more than 700% over the last five years, according to Google stock chart measurements. And with President Biden signing the CHIPS and Science Act into law in August 2022, AMD and other semiconductor companies stand to benefit from the $39 billion in subsidies earmarked for chip manufacturing on U.S. soil.
3. Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA): Sparking a rally
Smug, opinionated and prone to open his mouth just in time to insert his foot in it, Elon Musk is not an easy entrepreneur to like. But drivers love the electric cars Tesla produces, and the company finds itself ideally poised to take advantage of explosive sector growth at a time of climate change and fossil fuel transition.
With shares up more than 130% in 2023, Tesla is recommended as a “buy” or “overweight” by 20 analysts surveyed by the Wall Street Journal, with just six calling it a sell. The company has suffered setbacks with its Autopilot software, involved in more than 700 accidents since 2019, according to an analysis of National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data by the Washington Post.
But where some hugely hyped EV makers have seen their operations collapse — Nikola and Lordstown Motors among them — Tesla continues to assert its dominance in the sector. Even with a crush of competition from major automakers, Tesla still holds 50% of the U.S. EV market, according to Kelley Blue Book.
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This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
