Teleconference major Zoom Video Communications is now valued more than the combined market capitalisation of US Inc's so-called blue-eyed boys American Airlines, Expedia and Hilton.
As of April 8 closing, Zoom had a market cap of $31.73 billion, while the combined value of Hilton ($18.26 billion), American Airlines ($7.91 billion) and Expedia ($ 4.35 billion) stood at $30.52 billion.
With large numbers of people in a lockdown or facing some kind of restriction of movement due to the coronavirus pandemic, the demand for teleconference has skyrocketed as companies around the world go online to stay connected while practising social distancing.
Zoom's teleconference services are being widely used for education, telehealth and have even spread into personal space through weddings and “zoom parties”.
On the other hand, aviation and hospitality have been among the hardest-hit sectors. The value of Hilton has declined by almost half from $31 billion in January. American Airlines and Expedia have dropped $4 billion and $7 billion in market cap, as of April 3.
At the same time, Zoom's value has almost doubled since the beginning of the year.
Despite the rapid strides Zoom is making, it recently came under the scanner for privacy concerns, after a number of reports emerged of “Zoombombing” or “Zoom raiding” where hackers joined meetings that weren’t meant for them.
Zoom has since allowed users to password-protect their calls, though it is not enabled by default.
TechCrunch recently said that some reports claimed that Zoom video calls were not end-to-end encrypted, despite the company’s claims.
TechCrunch also quoted another article that said Zoom was leaking the email addresses of “at least a few thousand” people because personal addresses were treated as if they belonged to the same company.
Discover the latest Business News, Sensex, and Nifty updates. Obtain Personal Finance insights, tax queries, and expert opinions on Moneycontrol or download the Moneycontrol App to stay updated!
