Similarly, Netflix could stall and grow at a much slower rate going forward. But as long as it can better monetize its customers (competitors like Hulu have proven ad-supported models can work) and keep their status as the preeminent streaming service (maybe easier said than done), then there may still be a bright future for this company.  

Mature companies tend to focus more on the “less sexy” topics of cost controls, upsells and maximizing customer value. While this doesn’t drive investment news headlines the same way “Hey, look at this shiny new thing that will take over the world!” does, it’s still a recipe for long-term financial success.

Netflix and Meta are both available to Canadian investors via Canadian Deposit Receipts (CDRs), if you’re looking for a quick way to get portfolio exposure without converting your Canadian dollars to U.S. Look for them at META/NEO and NFLX/NEO.

Air Canada’s journey to profitability is delayed… indefinitely

The recent collapse of Air Canada’s (AC/TSX) ability to complete basic travel requirements, such as delivering people on time, not losing their luggage and/or generally trying to back out of compensation to which consumers are legally-entitled, has been well documented.

What’s up for debate is whether all this negative press will lead to investors feeling any pain. 

An argument can be made that Air Canada’s status as an effective monopoly in many areas, combined with the ever-present government support, means the company has a low risk of a complete meltdown. With Air Canada’s second quarter earnings report due in the next couple of weeks, the stock has been quite volatile as investors wait to see just how much the recent turmoil has affected bottom lines.

After recently experiencing Air Canada’s services, I have to say that I am not at all confident in the company’s ability to take advantage of the recent spike in travel demand. My wife and I were forced to sleep on the floor at Pearson Airport last week (due to luggage delays, crew delays, and maintenance delays) and were subjected to some of the rudest and most awful customer service I have ever experienced. Now, in fairness, the pilot and flight staff were quite pleasant and professional, and I have had several flawless flights with Air Canada over the past couple of years. It would also be accurate to say that we enjoyed no less than the superstar professional athlete experience.

From an investment standpoint, we can tell you with a high degree of conviction that we personally witnessed hundreds of people swear off of flying with Air Canada for the foreseeable future. That is going to have long-term repercussions that are hard to quantify in a quarterly report.

Source