“The probability of the steering wheel being taken away in the future is 100%. Consumers will demand it. I want to be clear. This is not me proscribing a point of view about the world. This is me predicting what consumers will demand. Consumers will demand in the future that people are not allowed to drive these two-ton death machines.”
Elon Musk, CEO, Tesla
As part of the NAOS investment process, we pay particular attention to the comments made by company CEOs and business leaders in order to gain a greater understanding of the current investment environment and key trends that may be emerging. Below are quotes from the week which in our view detail some of the most important and prominent industry trends and economic factors impacting their businesses.
Viticulture
“There is no doubt about it that growth [in wine export to China] will slow, is slowing now and will continue to slow. But growth is growth, it's still a good thing.”
Tom Battaglene, CEO, Australian Grape & Wine Inc
Agriculture
“Clearly this [earnings downgrade] is a disappointing outcome in a challenging period in international grain markets, compounded by the ongoing drought conditions in Australia.”
Mark Palmquist, CEO, Graincorp
Driverless Cars
“The probability of the steering wheel being taken away in the future is 100%. Consumers will demand it. I want to be clear. This is not me proscribing a point of view about the world. This is me predicting what consumers will demand. Consumers will demand in the future that people are not allowed to drive these two-ton death machines.”
Elon Musk, CEO, Tesla
Online Marketplace
“A number of jurisdictions have enacted legislation requiring marketplace collection of tax. Without a small business exemption this trend will increasingly impact small domestic sellers, making it harder for them to compete in an increasingly global and large merchant dominated world.”
Devin Wenig, CEO, Ebay
Telecommunication
“There's an emerging market now of telcos trying to work out what they do with millions of used handsets. Smartphones have reached a point where the difference between, say, a new iPhone and an old one is quite small, particularly for ordinary consumers. The need to upgrade is diminishing.”
Simon Downes, Editor-in-Chief, Canstar Blue
Renewable Energy
“We are continuing to look at opportunities to introduce renewables, particularly solar, into our energy mix and there’s quite a lot of activity on that at the moment.”
Elizabeth Gaines, CEO, Fortescue Metals
Domestic Property
“We can now sell [apartments] in volume. The Chinese economy has improved.”
Harry Triguboff, CEO, Meriton Group
US Housing
“We are experiencing a very typical seasonal upswing, and are generally encouraged by the level of buyer activity that we're seeing. Further, with the strong economic backdrop and the recent decline in mortgage rates, there's every reason to believe that 2019 can be another good year for the [US] housing industry.”
Ryan Marshall, CEO, Pulte Group
US Construction
“With [US] roofing labor markets remaining extremely tight, we continue to view CCM [Carlisle Construction Materials] demand backdrop across non-residential building applications as strong and sustainable, consistent to what we experienced as we exited 2018.”
Christian Koch, CEO, Carlisle Companies Inc
Global Economy
“I see no signs of a global recession in the coming 12 months. The central banks have loosened their policy above all because of the weak fourth quarter of 2018. We will go through a phase in which things are not great but also not bad. But we are naturally in a late phase of the economic growth cycle.”
Larry Fink, CEO, Blackrock
"UK macroeconomic pressures continue to have a negative impact on consumer spending in that region.”
Devin Wenig, CEO, Ebay
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Important information: This material has been prepared by NAOS Asset Management Limited (ABN 23 107 624 126, AFSL 273529) (NAOS) for general information purposes only and must not be construed as investment advice. Certain economic, market or company information contained in this material may have been obtained from published sources prepared by third parties. Nothing contained herein should be construed as granting by implication or otherwise, any license or right to use such third party content without the written permission of the owner.