Tech companies were the darlings of the pandemic economy.
Now, with skyrocketing inflation, rising interest rates, a war in Europe and uncertainty in China, the biggest tech behemoths are dragging down the stock market, while Silicon Valley start-ups are laying off employees — a dramatic downturn for an industry considered a barometer for the global economy.
The collapse has affected even the most dependable bulwarks. Apple, despite record revenue, went from being worth $3 trillion in January to $2.5 trillion Monday. Microsoft, Amazon, Tesla and Alphabet have all lost more than 20 percent of their value this year. Netflix has lost 70 percent.
Facebook, which is down 40 percent this year, told its employees recently it would freeze hiring, which in the tech industry will mean an all-but-certain drop in overall head count. Private start-ups, sheltered from the stock market, have also felt the pain, with 29 companies laying off employees since the beginning of April, according to Layoffs.fyi, which tracks layoffs in the tech industry.
That includes Robinhood, the financial services company; Cameo, the app that lets users pay for personalized videos from their favorite celebrities; and On Deck, a Silicon Valley darling that helps tech talent start companies, secure funding or find jobs.
This is a major turn for the tech industry, which for more than a decade has defied gravity, continuing to expand beyond what even the industry’s biggest fans thought was possible. Now, with an economy stretched by the global pandemic and jostled by war, the once largely immune tech industry may have found its match.
“There’s a lot of factors, a lot of headwinds that have people worried,” said Greg Martin, co-founder of Rainmaker Securities, which facilitates trading of privately held technology companies’ shares. “I’ve been doing this since the late ’90s. I’ve seen patterns like this. This feels very different.”
Andrea Beasley, spokeswoman for Meta-owned Facebook, said that it is slowing its talent pipeline according to its business needs. The other companies did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Nasdaq’s pain continued Tuesday, with the tech-heavy index rebounding 2 percent in morning before reversing course and turning negative. The oscilliation comes after it racked up a dizzying 4 percent decline to kick off the week. In April, the Nasdaq notched its worst month since 2008.
After touching an all-time low Monday, Peloton’s shares slumped more than 15 percent after the company reported a $757 million loss last quarter and its first year-over-year decline in revenue. Its stock is now down nearly 66 percent year-to-date.
During the dot-com bust in 2000, highflying Silicon Valley companies buoyed by overhyped stocks disintegrated overnight. The impact was so immediate and dramatic that Bay Area traffic thinned out and parking was easier to find.
By 2004, the industry found its footing again. Companies such as Facebook set up shop, and soon the industry was booming. Despite a global financial crisis and speculation of another bubble burst, the trajectories of companies such as Facebook and Google stayed on course. Then came Uber, Airbnb and Twitter, all of which faced skepticism about their lofty valuations before going public.
For more than a decade, some investors have wondered whether a crash remi



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