Big Tech has been the biggest financial beneficiary of the pandemic, in the absolute and relative terms.
Google, Facebook, Twitter, Microsoft, and Apple have collusively monopolized communication of information about COVID-19, and nearly doubled their market capitalization from $4T to nearly $8T.
Table 1. Changes in GFTMA stocks prices and capitalization from January 1, 2020 to January 1, 2022.
| Corporation | Ticker | 1/1/2020 | Cap, $T | 1/1/2022 | Cap, $T | Growth |
| Google (Alphabet) | GOOG | $1,434 | 0.95 | $2,726 | 1.81 | 1.90 |
| Facebook (Meta) | FB | $202 | 0.56 | $318 | 0.88 | 1.57 |
| TWTR | $33 | 0.03 | $37 | 0.03 | 1.12 | |
| Microsoft | MSFT | $167 | 1.26 | $303 | 2.28 | 1.81 |
| Apple | AAPL | $76 | 1.25 | $170 | 2.79 | 2.24 |
| TOTAL | $4.04T | $7.79T | 1.93 | |||
| Prices are adjusted for splits and dividend and/or capital gain distributions |
Figure 1. The market price increase of GOOG, FB, MSFT, and AAPL during the same time
via Science Defies Politics
January 20, 2022
