Zoom now worth more than 7 big airlines

Zoom Communications, the popular video conferencing company, is earning billions as people are transitioning to working from home amid the coronavirus pandemic. 

The market value of Zoom stood at USD 48.8 billion as of May 15, while last year it was only USD 623 million, reports Visual Capitalist. 

Industry experts say business users were drawn to the app because of its user-friendly interface and user experience, and the ability to host up to 100 participants at a time. The software has also blown up among educators for use in online learning after CEO Eric Yuan took extra steps to ensure the application could be used free of charge by K-12 schools.

Participants in the Zoom Meeting have skyrocketed in recent months, from 10 million in December 2019 to a staggering 300 million as of April 2020.

On the other hand, the airline industry has experienced an unprecedented decline in demand as international restrictions have shut down airports.

The world's top revenue-based airlines namely Southwest Airlines, Delta, United, International Airlines Group, Lufthansa, American and Air France had a market capitalization of USD 121.301 billion by the end of January. However, as of May 15, the overall value has dropped by 62 per cent and now stands at USD 46.214 billion.

With countries struggling to control Covid-19 spread, several airlines have been reducing travel capacity, laying off staff and slashing executive pay to try to keep afloat.

No one can say for certain as to when regular air travel will resume. The condition of the airlines is so poor right now that even Warren Buffet has pulled out from airline stocks!

Meanwhile, as many parts of the world begin taking measures to restart economic activity, airlines could see a cautious return to the skies. However, things are far away from being normal any time soon.