19 Billion Reasons You Should Bet On "Users"

In the latest chapter of the social media saga, Facebook shelled out a staggering $19 billion for an "app" you've probably never heard of... February 25, 2014     19 Billion Reasons You Should Bet On "Users"   WhatsApp makes a fortune How to "value" these crazy tech firms Plus: One message that could save a hated stock...   Greg Guenthner coming to you from Baltimore, MD... Greg Guenthner In the latest chapter in the social media saga, Facebook shelled out a staggering $19 billion for an "app" you've probably never heard of... After the deal hit the wire last week, market pundits lost their collective minds. After all, why would Facebook shell out $19 billion for an app that's got a less than stellar revenue stream and no desire for ad-monetization? Today, I'm going to try to figure that out. Now, before you commit me to a mental institution, I need you to open up to the possibility that Facebook's purchase of Whatsapp might not be the biggest disaster of the Internet Age... "Pricing a company like WhatsApp involves looking at the user base," explains Rude researcher Noah Sugarman. "WhatsApp has 450 million of them-- 70% of whom are actively engaged every day in the app." These users are there for a reason-- WhatsApp allows folks to message their friends while avoiding text message charges from their cell phone carrier. "Those users are thus less engaged with traditional cell phone services that charge customers money every month to do what WhatsApp lets its users do for practically no money at all," Noah continues. "As a result, traditional cell phone providers are taking it on the chin. Heavyweights like Verizon and Vodafone lost $33 billion in texting revenue to companies like WhatsApp in 2013 alone." From that perspective, Facebook starts to look a little more strategic in its move. Telecom providers still earned $120 billion in 2013 from text messaging. But you can expect dramatically slimmer revenues going forward. That's especially true because people are hopping off traditional cell phone providers and hopping onto WhatsApp at a much faster rate than even the big social network services... "You see, rather than cutting into the cell phone provider revenue stream, Facebook - through WhatsApp - is looking to eliminate the stream altogether," Noah explains. "It's very similar to what Amazon does in its e-commerce space. Facebook is fine with sacrificing some of its profits to make sure its competitors' wallets feel the bigger pinch. "We're now witnessing a massive shift in how people communicate over long-distances - and how much they'll pay to do it..." Today, I'm showing PRO readers how to profit from another hated company that's set to reap the benefits of this deal. Here are the details...         Do these excited billionaires know something you don't? We all know the government is hiding some very surprising secrets. But this one is completely off the charts… Silicon Valley billionaires… covert government investors… and even one of the most successful money managers of all time are all racing to get in on a piece of the action. To get an uncensored look at what's going on, click here now.           Rude Numbers Targets, Predictions and Wild Guesses   25 activist investor campaigns have been started, year-to-date. That's a 5-year high, according to MarketWatch... 3,000 U.S. bank branches closed their doors from 2009 to 2013... 317 consecutive days have seen the S&P 500 trade above its 200-day moving average... 68% of all stocks trading on U.S. exchanges are trading above their respective 50-day moving averages as the market teases new all-time highs... $1,332 is where you'll find gold futures this morning. The shiny yellow metal continues to creep higher along with the broad market this week, reaching a high of $1,339 early Monday...     Rude Trends When to Buy... When to Sell   The S&P 500 flirted with all-time highs yesterday. It wasn't the most bullish close we could have seen, but stocks are looking a lot better than they were just a couple of weeks ago... Of course, if you were paying attention to the charts, you would have seen a bounce brewing. In fact, one trader I know called the S&P bounce to the exact day... "The technical factors were all lining up in favor of higher ground to end the month," he revealed. "And new highs by mid-March..." Starting this Friday, February 28th at 9:30 a.m., you could use his tracking strategy to know ahead of time which stocks are about to move... Here's how you can get onboard now... [Ed. Note: Send your feedback here: rude@agorafinancial.com - and follow me on Twitter: @GregGuenthner]     Ignore At Your Own Peril Today's Must Read Links   Check Your Pockets and Your Piggy Bank... 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