
Why Shares of Netflix, Peloton, and Zoom Plunged Today
Stocks that outperformed during the coronavirus pandemic are now crashing. But should investors be selling their shares?
It’s hard to talk about the general stock market without mentioning one or more FAANG stocks. FAANG stocks are the five tech giants: Facebook (NASDAQ:FB), Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX), and Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) -- and they make up a sizable portion of the S&P 500 Index.
That means most investors already have at least some exposure to them. Because the heavy weighting of FAANG stocks in indexes like the S&P 500 gives them an outsized impact on the broader stock market, it’s worthwhile for investors to learn a bit more about them.
FAANG is an acronym used to describe some of the most prominent companies in the tech sector. Originally the acronym was FANG, for Facebook, Amazon, Netflix, and Alphabet (formerly Google). In 2017, investors started including Apple in the group, turning the acronym into FAANG.
Over the past decade, the FAANG stocks have grown faster than the overall S&P 500 or the more technology-focused NASDAQ. The original four FANG stocks were all internet-based companies, but the later inclusion of Apple -- primarily a consumer hardware manufacturer -- made FAANG a broader group of technology stocks.
FAANG stocks have historically outperformed the S&P 500 index. Since the market bottom in March of 2009, the worst-performing FAANG stock, Alphabet, has returned more than double the index average.
As every investor should know, past results don’t guarantee future success. That said, FAANG companies exhibit several competitive advantages that make them appealing long-term investments.
Most of the FAANG companies benefit from the network effect.
Source: Getty Images
All five FAANG companies have intangible assets that should make them more profitable than their rivals. Facebook, Amazon, and Google have troves of user data they can use to target advertisements. Netflix’s move to original content and exclusive licenses makes its content library irreplicable. Apple is one of the few companies that makes both the hardware and the software for its devices -- and is certainly the only one doing it at its scale.
These competitive advantages can make the FAANG stocks great potential investments. Still, investors may want to examine each stock’s valuation relative to its own historical value and that of comparable competitors before buying.
FAANG companies are among those using artificial intelligence technology to leverage computers' ability to mimic human learning.
The 'internet of things' refers to the everyday objects that are increasingly connected to the internet.
The companies that design and manufacture computer chips along with other core tech components.
These companies provide phone, internet, and television services -- along with the infrastructure that supports them.
No fund or ETF contains FAANG stocks exclusively. However, the NYSE FANG+ index tracks the five FAANG stocks and five other tech and tech-enabled leaders.
In November 2019, BMO Financial Group issued an exchange-traded note that tracks the FANG+ index. It trades on the NYSE Arca exchange under the ticker FNGS (NYSEARCA: FNGS). Owning it is the simplest way for investors to gain added exposure to the returns of FAANG stocks. The ETN has an expense ratio of 0.58%.
With such a small index, investors may be better off building their own portfolio of FAANG stocks and avoiding the ETN expenses -- especially now that most discount brokers charge no commissions for stock purchases and allow fractional share purchases. Building your own portfolio also allows you to optimize stock purchases and sales for your own unique capital gains tax situation.
You could include just the five FAANG stocks or all 10 FANG+ index stocks. To track the NYSE FANG+ index, buy an equal dollar amount of Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix, and Alphabet plus the five other stocks chosen by the index’s creators. They rebalance the index quarterly and will announce any new constituents a week before they do so.
FAANG stocks probably already play at least a small role in your portfolio. But if you want additional exposure to these excellent companies, you can buy the FANG+ ETN or simply dedicate a portion of your portfolio to the FAANG stocks themselves.
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