Layoffs in unicorns, Uber’s travel superapp and what matters in the market

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‘Unicorn’ layoffs

The winds that brought a lot of money from abroad to Brazilian startups seem to have turned. Loft, QuintoAndar and Facily, all unicorns (startups valued at $1 billion or more), have made massive layoffs in recent weeks.

What explains: terminations involve conjunctural and internal factors.

• In the macro scenario, venture capital’s money faucet, once at full flow with US monetary policy lax, appears to be closing.

• When the Fed raises (or indicates that it will raise) interest rates, US Treasuries become more attractive. As they are safer, the market changes its course and becomes more selective where it puts its money. The scenario also penalizes the Stock Exchanges, but hits the venture capital of startups squarely.

• Foreseeing that the next rounds of funding will not be as voluminous as they have been, many startups, also pressured by investors, decide to cut costs, even if they still have plenty of cash to stand on.

In numbers:

• Were 159 people turned off in the Loft, buying and selling apartments. The exits were the result of the purchase of CrediHome, a real estate credit company acquired last year.

• At QuintoAndar, for the rental and purchase and sale of properties, layoffs reached around 170 professionals.

• The collective purchasing platform Facily laid off more than 100 workersaccording to reports from former employees.

What unicorns say:

• Loft said it will support former employees by providing Linkedin’s premium service and extending their health plan for two months.

• QuintoAndar stated that rental contracts grew 23% in the first quarter of 2022 compared to the last three months of last year and cut staff by 4%.

• Facily did not comment.

Has the giant returned?

Shares in Meta, owner of Facebook, soared 17% in post-market negotiations this Wednesday (27) in the US after the company’s results for the first quarter were released.

What explains: the market reacted well to the growth of daily active users of the social network, which reached 1.96 billion in the quarter, above projections and results in the previous three months (1.93 billion).

The metric is relevant to advertisers as it measures how many users access the platform frequently.

Remember: Mark Zuckerberg’s company sank 26% in a single day in February after showing a decline in the number of active users and ad revenue. From then until the closing of this Wednesday (27), the company’s shares had accumulated losses of more than 40%.

Other big tech results:

• On Tuesday (26), Alphabet, owner of Google, released results below market estimates for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic. What soured the most was the disappointment with the ad-generated revenue. stocks dropped 3.75% this Wednesday.

• On the same day, Microsoft had very different numbers. It exceeded expectations for profit and revenue, especially in the cloud computing services segment. The papers went up 4.81% this Wednesday.

In Brazil:

• Vale recorded a profit of BRL 23 billion in the first quarter of 2022, a drop of 27.4% compared to the same period in 2021, and attributed the result to excessive rainfall in Minas Gerais and delays in environmental licensing. The company also announced a buyback program of up to 500 million shares.

• This Wednesday, the Ibovespa rose for the first time after falling seven trading sessions and closed at a high of 1.05%, at 109,349 points. The dollar lost a little of the breath of the last few days and retreated 0.46%, the BRL 4.967.

Assembling the superapp

Uber announced late last month that it should offer users options to buy plane, train, bus and even hotel reservations through the app.

Most of these news should arrive by the end of 2022 and the pilot project will be carried out in the UK.

Understand: at first, the company does not intend to offer these services on its own, but rather to have partner companies integrated into its platform.

The goal is for the user to use the same app throughout the trip, and for Uber itself to use its traditional service to take the passenger from the hotel to the airport, for example.

The strategy: the company’s focus is to make its app a “one-stop shop”, a concept that has been gaining fans in different sectors of the market.

• The idea is that the user can access several services in a single place, where he can also organize his purchases and solve problems.

Is here? Uber has also invested in other fronts in Brazil. In São Paulo, the platform launched the Uber Taxi in 2020, offering a transport alternative to the user. The app also shows bus route options.

Nubank provides R$ 808 million for the board

Nubank plans to pay BRL 808 million in compensation to the eight members of its board, as informed by the fintech in a regulatory document.

The numbers attracted the attention of the market and social networks.

Understand: the vast majority (96%) of these more than BRL 800 million will be paid with company stock options. This is an instrument used by companies to insure and encourage employees, whose remuneration is linked to the performance of their roles.

• The total amount paid to executives and members of the board of directors is BRL 816 million. Last year, Nubank paid BRL 185.3 million for these positions.

• The digital bank says in the form that the compensation policy aims to attract, retain and motivate executives essential to the company’s success and ensure that they are rewarded in a similar way to companies with the same profile.

To compare: Itaú, which took over from Nubank the position of largest bank in Latin America, paid last year BRL 444 million to 45 members of the administrative and fiscal councils and the board of directors.

Members of the same positions at Bradesco received BRL 880 million in remuneration in 2021.

Philanthropy: David Vélez, CEO of Nubank, and his wife, the Peruvian economist Mariel Reyes, from Cyrela, made a commitment to donate most of their fortune in life.

As registered by Sheet in March, the Colombian said in an interview that no matter how creative he was, he wouldn’t be able to spend all his money.