Microsoft Corporation (MSFT), Apple Inc. (AAPL), Google Inc (GOOG): Three Signs You Missed Before the Crash of 2013

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The next Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) CEO can’t change the past, and the present environment of platform-agnostic gadgetry makes it highly unlikely that anyone will ever profit off of operating systems the way that Microsoft did in the past.

3. The IPO market is a glutton for punishment

American Homes 4 Rent (NYSE:AMH) went public earlier this month.

Everything about this IPO raised flags.

American Homes 4 Rent (NYSE:AMH) is the country’s second-largest player in the niche that buys distressed properties, dolls them up, and rents them out. This market is so young that American Homes 4 Rent just got into the business two years ago and it’s already the silver medalist.

Can you feel the bubble? This may have been a great strategy a couple of years ago when the real estate market bottomed out, but raising money now means that they will be paying today’s prices for new properties. The only thing distressed these days is the buyer. With median real estate prices up nearly 14% over the past year, the costs to buy new digs are growing faster than what these companies can square away in rent.

It gets worse. American Homes 4 Rent isn’t the first company in this niche to go public. Two smaller players hit the market in the past eight months, and both of them are trading below their original IPO prices. These companies are structured as REITs, but they’re not shelling out any payouts at the moment. How does an underwriter get investors excited about this one?

Well, American Homes 4 Rent had to settle for the low end of its pricing range. Several weeks later it’s still trading near its $16 IPO price tag.

Something’s got to give.

The article 3 Signs You Missed Before the Crash of 2013 originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Rick Munarriz.

Longtime Fool contributor Rick Munarriz has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends and owns shares of Apple, Google, and Tesla Motors. It also  owns shares of Microsoft.

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