Shares of technology companies from chip makers to FAANGs slumped for a third quarter at the end of September, as softer revenue, profit warnings and fading CEO confidence added to the doom. The backdrop is a widely expected economic recession next year, caused, in part, by aggressive Federal Reserve interest-rate increases to squash inflation.
The current state of play is complex. However, buying attractive assets during repressed markets presents a tremendous opportunity. And history also shows that bear markets tend to turn over once greater certainty about policy is evident, making times like now a potential profitable moment to get constructive and buy companies with excellent long-term prospects. Technology will return to prosperity, and some names will likely perform well even if the market stays down for some time. I believe four trends — automation, artificial intelligence (AI), cloud and cybersecurity — will continue to see robust demand in even the most challenging economic circumstances. Investors ought to be playing the long game. Here’s a spotlight on four companies in those spaces.Workflow automation Companies that want to reduce headcount and optimize for the short term will slow hiring and turn to automation to do more with less. ServiceNow
NOW,
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enables companies to leverage existing IT and software to build automation for not just network and IT but op …