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SoftBank Vision funds post record $39B annual loss

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Re: SoftBank Vision funds post record $39B annual loss

#141

Post by robertlagrant »

robertlagrant wrote: post #98
TylerE wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ironically the one good thing the rideshades did was to get taxis to install credit card readers. Taxis are often half the price of an Uber these days.

> Ironically the one good thing the rideshades did was to get taxis to install credit card readers. Taxis are often half the price of an Uber these days. And they made taxi summoning apps better and more commonplace. They basically dragged taxis into the 21st century, which was pretty much never happening without some actual competition.

In fact they're so innovative that Transport for London is now looking at taking the same sort of technology and using it to charge drivers for driving in London, with surge charging and allsorts.

Re: SoftBank Vision funds post record $39B annual loss

#142

Post by stev-0 »

robertlagrant wrote: post #100
grumple wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When I was in London a few weeks ago the taxi prices were 2-3x the uber prices. Also they'd tell you to fuck off if they didn't want to take you to that location.

Taxis are generally far more expensive than Ubers, and they don't quote up front, and they try and trick you with extra charges, and you can only summon them with an app because of Uber forcing them to engage in competition.

Most Taxi companies I’ve dealt with quote if ask them. Generally you get a few bucks off if you do so at least a day in advance.

I’d rather give a call than install an app anyways.

My experience taught me that taxis are usually around the same price as Ubers in densely populated areas and wildly more expensive outside of those. I’m not very experienced as an Uber user though since I generally prefer public transport.

Re: SoftBank Vision funds post record $39B annual loss

#143

Post by smabie »

Danieru wrote: post #115
lotsofpulp wrote: post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People on this forum should be very happy a guy like him exists who can efficiently transfer wealth from rich Middle Easterners to employees of tech companies.

Except get this: that middle east money is safe. It is softbank itself which takes the upside and downside to the vision fund. The middle east money earns a fixed and constant return. I am very glad I sold my softbank shares two years ago. Son is a gambler with horrible bet sizing skills.

What do you mean?

Re: SoftBank Vision funds post record $39B annual loss

#144

Post by grumple »

zeristor wrote: post #99
grumple wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When I was in London a few weeks ago the taxi prices were 2-3x the uber prices. Also they'd tell you to fuck off if they didn't want to take you to that location.

Did you ask to go South of The River?

Is it illegal to visit that half of the city?

Re: SoftBank Vision funds post record $39B annual loss

#145

Post by korm »

grumple wrote: post #74
korm wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not OP but it is often the case around London, UK. Half price isn't an exaggeration! Better cars usually too.

When I was in London a few weeks ago the taxi prices were 2-3x the uber prices. Also they'd tell you to fuck off if they didn't want to take you to that location.

Must have been a black cab. I just checked and I can book a regular cab for £30-40 depending on the company, while Uber charges £48-55 between 19:30 and 00:30 for the same trip.

Re: SoftBank Vision funds post record $39B annual loss

#146

Post by CamperBob2 »

eganist wrote: post #126
CamperBob2 wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's just plain bad faith not to acknowledge that the scenario you describe was 10x more likely to happen with taxis.

Anecdata: it's happened more frequently with me and ubers rather than cabs. So no, not bad faith, just my experience. I apologize that your experience was different. And likewise to all the downvotes who figured my experience was false lol.

And likewise to all the downvotes who figured my experience was false lol.

No one is saying your specific experience was false, but: what happened to the taxicab industry is simply not something that happens to businesses that even bother to go through the motions of customer service. People were so eager to ditch taxis that they flocked to a largely-illegal, unregulated service that literally involved getting into strangers' private cars.

If your business loses out a model like that, you're doing it wrong. The taxi cartel and their captive regulators were doing it wrong.

Re: SoftBank Vision funds post record $39B annual loss

#147

Post by maerF0x0 »

lotsofpulp wrote: post #116
maerF0x0 wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think a very large percent of them had a nonzero value, but the issue is if you can get 4% guaranteed return on cash, vs risky 1% return on cash suddenly the asset is worth less than before. But if you can get unlimited money at 0% you might as well invest it on 1% return bets. You're still making money on others' money.

I would have thought the issue was the lack of net income.

The idea is so long as you have an expectation of future ROI you can amortize that future value into the present and sell off the present equity for current capital.

People are incentivized to put in capital so long as the risk adjusted rate of return exceeds marginal alternatives (including just sitting on the cash in a 2-10% inflation rate environment)

Re: SoftBank Vision funds post record $39B annual loss

#148

Post by SilverBirch »

mschuster91 wrote: post #30
SilverBirch wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I do wonder if ARMs business model works long term. Imagination Technologies crashed the exact same way.

They'll have Apple's (likely immense) license fees for at least a decade - Apple won't make another architecture change anytime soon. And the rest of ARM's business... it's not like there are any alternatives. China hasn't managed to create a competitor, and even if they do it may very well be sanctioned and so useless to the US and EU. Intel/AMD's x86 is a dead end for the high-efficiency, low power market that ARM…

Apple's license fees are a good revenue stream, but that doesn't really mean ARM will do any business. Those fees are baked in, fire all the engineers and just distribute the fees to share holders through dividends. The question is what is ARM designing today that Apple will use tomorrow, I think the answer is likely "not much".

Re: SoftBank Vision funds post record $39B annual loss

#149

Post by maerF0x0 »

nly wrote: post #129
maerF0x0 wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is one thing that terrifies me. I'm sacrificing today to save for tomorrow while the masses are doing the opposite. And in a decade or 3 when I have assets they can out vote me and take it all back via taxes or rules that change the game Some examples are like - I paid off my student debt by not going to coachella or doing optional things (that I observed others doing). They might get it cancelled for free. They…

This is guaranteed to happen. Boomers have been rigging the system as a large voting cohort since coming of age.

Boomers might mostly be dead in 30 yrs, but yeah a concern in 10.
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