FAANG Stocks

What are FAANG Stocks?

FAANG stocks are the publicly traded stocks of U.S. technology giants Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix, and Google. They are among the best-performing technology and most well-known companies in the world.

Currently, the combined market value of FAANG exceeds $3 trillion. It accounts for almost 10% of the U.S. stock market’s total market capitalization of $31 trillion. The price movement of FAANG stocks impacts the entire market, affecting even investors who do not own FAANG stocks.

All the companies are traded on the NASDAQ Stock Market. In addition, the FAANG stocks are part of the S&P 500 Index, which includes the 500 largest publicly-traded companies by market capitalization traded on the NYSE or NASDAQ.

List of FAANG Stocks

1. Facebook

Facebook, Inc. (Ticker: FB) is an online social media and social networking service company founded in 2004. The company’s primary revenue stream comes from online advertisements. Facebook also owns several prominent subsidiaries, including Instagram, WhatsApp, and Oculus VR.

Facebook currently lists over 2.5 billion active users, and it was the most downloaded mobile app in the world during the 2010s. It is available in 111 different languages to anyone who claims to be at least 13 years old. As of December 2020, the social media giant’s market capitalization is over $780.5 billion.

2. Amazon

Amazon Inc. (Ticker: AMZN) is a diversified technology company operating in e-commerce, consumer electronics, and cloud computing industries. Jeff Bezos established the company in 1994 as an online bookstore. Amazon is now the world’s biggest e-commerce retailer based on market capitalization. The company owns several subsidiaries, including Whole Foods Market (chain of supermarkets) and Twitch (live streaming platform).

Amazon operates in countries around the world. By 2018, its two-day delivery system (Amazon Prime) listed over 100 million subscribers worldwide. As of December 2020, Amazon’s market capitalization is more than $1.62 trillion.

3. Apple

Apple is a multinational technology company based in California, known for selling consumer electronics such as phones, tablets, and computers. It was founded by Steve Jobs and two others in 1976, making it the oldest of the FAANG stocks. Apple went public in December 1980, with an IPO that raised over $100 million (at $22 per share).

Nowadays, Apple is the largest IT company in the world. In addition, on August 2, 2018, it became the first U.S. company with a market capitalization of over $1 trillion. As of December 2020, its market capitalization is almost $2.2 trillion, with revenues of almost $275 billion.

To learn how to value companies and stocks, check out CFI’s Business Valuation Modeling Course.

4. Netflix

Netflix Inc. (Ticker: NFLX) is a media provider that provides customers with subscription-based online streaming of films and TV shows. Recently, the company entered the content-production industry, producing its own movies and TV shows.

Netflix counts almost 200 million paid subscriptions worldwide, making it a dominant player in the entertainment industry. It operates in over 190 countries and also produces a variety of Netflix Original content. As of December 2020, its market capitalization is over $235 billion.

5. Google (Alphabet)

Headquartered in California, U.S., Google specializes in providing internet-based services and products. It was founded in 1998 by Larry Page and Sergey Brin and is perhaps best known for its web search engine. The company went public in August 2004, offering almost 20 million shares at $85 per share.

Google Search is the United States’ dominant internet search engine. Its success triggered the creation of numerous other products, including work and productivity services (Google Docs, Google Sheets), email (Gmail), and video sharing (YouTube).

Also, Google developed a mobile operating system called Android, which runs the majority of today’s smartphones. Finally, the company produces consumer electronics such as Chromebook laptops, Pixel smartphones, and Google Home devices.

As of December 2020, Google’s market capitalization is $1.18 trillion, trading under its parent company, Alphabet.

To learn how to value companies and stocks, check out CFI’s Business Valuation Modeling Course.

Related Readings

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