Dear readers,
The first three months of 2021 are proof that the US tech industry can have it both ways. Pandemic-forced shutdowns may have been a gift to the sector but so is post-pandemic recovery. Ecommerce, online advertising, device sales and cloud computing are all on the rise. Companies are flush with cash. Only regulators can spoil this party.
Quarterly results have offered an early glimpse of how tech companies might fare once vaccine programmes have fully rolled out and economies have reopened. Pretty well, it seems. Online shopping habits have become ingrained and the shift out of offices means that digital working tools are still required. Sales of the PCs, smartphones and tablets that facilitate life online are up. Research company IDC estimates that tablet shipments rose 55 per cent in the first quarter — the most since 2013.