Member Info for bigbadbob79

So far as I can see, the one USP that Loopup has is direct routing rather than VOIP.
I'm not convinced this actually has much value. I mean there is still going to be an element of VOIP from computer to network to computer.
In my use of Teams, it isn't "the internet" that causes quality issues, it's when an individuals internet connection or microphone isn't very good. So you'll have a meeting with all participants crystal clear except for the one person using a mobile hotspot, or has a rubbish microphone or the washing machine is running in the background. Direct routing doesn't solve any of that.
And in any case, we live in an age where we can stream 4k TV, all crystal clear and crisp. Broadband speeds are getting faster as time goes on and direct routing will become more and more of a niche selling point.
As for the revenue pipeline, I think it's a pig in a poke. Might deliver, might not. Little way of discerning what will happen before it happens.

"My question is: I still don't understand why people won't just use Microsoft Teams directly or whether another 3rd party (Loopup) is needed in the chain. I'm trying to understand the tech better from the website but just feel even more confused.£
That's the same question I keep asking myself and the reason I remain uninvested, though tempted. Whilst the website looks great, I keep asking "but why"? I use Teams all day every day and I can't think of a single thing that I would need to add Loopup for. I have a nagging feeling that Loopup's offer is yesterday's hot stuff and the world has moved on.
There is no doubt the company is significantly profitable at the moment, but I'm not confident that the revenues will continue to grow.

To think I had my finger hovering over the "buy" button in 2015, but didn't because I decided their one person store restructure was a mistake.
Oh well, I've only missed out on a 20+ bagger and an annual dividend yield of about 20% on the price I'd have paid.

Pleased for everyone who has been holding this long term, but even with this pullback it's too highly valued for my liking now.

Yes, it's a nice website. But I've barely used my phone since March, and if I wanted to phone someone I'd just phone them, not faff about calling from Teams. For everything else, there's Teams. The other person doesn't even need to have Teams.
I like Loopup's product, having used it, I'm just not sure there's a market for it any more.
I mean £15m EBITDA and £45m MCAP make this a no-brainer in some respects, but I'm clearly not the only one with reservations about future prospects. That said, I might dip my toe in...

I'm not sure. I opined that this was overpriced before the results were announced in November. Whilst I understand the pandemic will lead to more remote meetings, it's also led to more remote working. And for a lot of companies the solution has been Teams, which provides all the cloud computing you need, including voice and video meetings and virtual presentations. I am unconvinced that many companies paying for Teams will pay again for Loopup - I just can't understand what Loopup offers over and above Teams.
I've used Loopup's dial-out functionality in the past and it was great, much better than dialing-in. But the work has moved on I fear.

All that said, I am tempted at current levels....

Indeed. I bought some of these in February 2019. I've just sat on them ever since and today I'm into 5.5% profit on my holding. It's taken a while, but that's a far better return than the bank and I expect them to keep motoring from here.
"Time not timing".

Yep Teams is/will kill Loopup. I don't understand why anybody would purchase their Teams integration - better sound/video quality and better reliability seems to be the "USP". Well, newsflash, Teams works perfectly reliably and the video/sound quality is more than good enough for all practical purposes.
I used Loopup during a bit of work last year (the firm we were working with used it). It was good, better than dialling in etc. Sniffed at the shares then but it was loss making and I didn't buy any. I was somehow asleep for a few months when the pandemic hit so wasn't surprised when I finally checked to see it had soared. 200+p was clearly far too pricey. I'm not sure at this level but am minded to be cautious. Loopup could become to videoconferencing what Mozilla is to web browsing - niche. Teams will become the IE/Chrome of videoconferencing.

Taken a small punt here. Could be a good medium term investment but I don't understand today's market reaction which makes me cautious.

Whoop! Put 2 chunks in here over the past couple of months or so. It is massively undervalued and until now was under the radar of most. I was hoping for another month or two of quiet so I could accumulate some more, but I'll still be a happy man if the rerate is now. This should multibag from these levels. If you deduct cash in bank from market cap the p/e is something like 3, which is ludicrous for a fast growing company in this sector.

Agree. Bought in December at around 30p and then bought the same amount again more recently around 27p.
I've been watching FOOT for the past few months but had no funds available to buy, but I think QUIZ will show similar returns in due course.
Maybe should have put the funds I used to top up QUIZ into FOOT...

Still looks overvalued to me. £50m market cap on EBITDA of circa £1.2m.
Huge growth in sales resulting in a lower EBITDA is not a good story, suggest margins are being squeezed. Company was loss making at the half-year results so one can only assume losses will increase on lower EBITDA.

Another slant on the capacity constraint is that they've reduced margins too much - they could have sold less stuff for a higher margin. No point cutting prices to generate sales that you can't fulfil.
Smacks of incompetence/a not very well run business which I guess is why the market is spooked.

Err. So if MA held 29%, and the other 2 held 22% between them,taking us to the 51% between top three, explain how none of them could become a majority shareholder with 49% held by everyone else? Even a 1% shareholder could gain majority control if they put a good enough offer to the 49%...

There really is some rubbish spouted on these boards, and plenty of fools lapping it up.

Sorry, was meant to say "unless Deb say they are bust..."

Yep, agree with that. Echoes what I posted earlier. Unless Deb says they are just on 4th Jan SP will recover significantly.

The price appears not to have moved for several hours, no trades showing either. What's going on? Is it in auction?

Yep, it's a bargain and I have bought some today. May go a bit lower in which case I may buy some more.

On current sentiment, an update in January that is even slightly more positive than totally dreadful will result in a SP correction. The BOD were correct to dismiss Mike Ashley's "offer" - why he thought they'd want to borrow a relatively small sum from him on such poor terms when the business is well within it's banking headroom is a mystery.

Meh. Nearly twice yesterdays SP, based upon an Arcona share NAV of 13.98, however Arcona shares are currently trading at 7.
A lot of ifs, buts and maybes in the announcement too. Hence the rather muted market reaction.

In for a small punt here.

ASC down 40% today on a trading update that obviously didn't meet expectations. It's sector fallout from that, although I've thought ASC overvalued and vulnerable to high expectations not being hit for years now.
QUIZ is a very similar business model to ASC, so in some ways it's an understandable reaction.

However, I think overdone. QUIZ P/E isn't exceptional, and is even lower when you strip out the net cash position.

Market seems to be on a downward trend for online retailers as well as bricks and mortar retailers now. They can't all be going bust. Mulling a punt here and in DEB. Got a funny feeling the doom and gloom around Christmas sales might just turn out to be overdone.

Quite happy for it to stay where it is for a few more months ;)