Topic: How To Invest

Q: Hi, TSI. What is your opinion on Twilio. It seems to be gaining new customers Thanks again.

Article Excerpt

A: Twilio Inc. $115.47, symbol TWLO on New York (Shares outstanding: 128.6 million; Market cap: $15.9 billion; www.twilio.com) offers a key service to software developers who create mobile apps. Its own software is used to connect apps to essential functions elsewhere on a device, including dealing with phone calls and messaging. Those applications explain why consumers can text or call an Uber driver, for instance, without actually sharing phone numbers. Twilio’s biggest customers include Uber and Facebook Inc.’s WhatsApp. The company went public on June 22, 2016, at $15 a share. It sold 10 million shares to raise $150 million. Since then, the stock has gained more than 670% as customers, such as Airbnb, Salesforce, Lyft, U-Haul and Nordstrom, use its platform to more easily communicate with their customers. In October 2018, Twilio agreed to buy SendGrid, an email delivery service, for $2 billion in Twilio stock. SendGrid has the same business model as Twilio but is focused on email instead of voice…