Martin Sorrell, founder and chairman of media firm S4 Capital, believes the war in Ukraine has the potential to benefit three of America’s biggest tech firms.
“I’m very bullish on the tech giants … because the war will have an impact on them,” Sorrell told CNBC at the World Economic Forum in Davos Monday.
He added: “The big three — Google (or Alphabet), Meta, and Amazon — will benefit, I think, as a result of the war.”
Explaining his reasoning, Sorrell said: “Defense means cyber defense and cyber offense so technology and technological companies become really important.”
Sorrell stopped short of saying exactly how Alphabet, Meta and Amazon could benefit from this, but all three companies boast that their cyber security systems are world leading.
Google and Amazon also provide cloud computing infrastructure that governments and cyber companies can harness in cyber warfare.
Sir Martin Sorrell, Executive Chairman, S4 Capital.
Eóin Noonan | Sportsfile | Getty Images
Google, Amazon and Meta did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.
The war in Ukraine is being fought both online and offline, with hackers on each side targeting the enemy’s national infrastructure, businesses, governments and citizens.
Over the last few weeks, major tech stocks have plummeted amid concerns of persistently high inflation, rising interest rates and the risk of a global recession. The Nasdaq stock market declined 3.8% last week, falling for a seventh straight week. It’s the longest losing streak for the tech-heavy index in 21 years.
Asked if the world is facing a second dot com bubble, Sorrell said there’s already been a “massive correction,” adding that some people think there could be a further correction of 5-10%.