Is Facebook Inc (FB), Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) and other FANGS Still a Guaranteed Bet?

FANG stocks, or Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB), Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) and Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL), have been great companies to invest in over the past five years.

Each of them have outperformed the NASDAQ and S&P 500 over that time frame by a lot. This is despite the fact that Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB), Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL) are giant companies with mega-market caps.

Despite their large sizes, the companies still grow at fast rates because their end target markets are so big, and because new markets pop up. For Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB), Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), and Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL), for example, virtual reality, drone tech, and artificial intelligence offer a massive new opportunity that could drive growth down the road for years to come. Virtual reality could also be a big driver for Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) in the future too.

That being said, some in the hedge fund world aren’t sure that they are guaranteed bets anymore. Howard Marks of Oaktree Capital, for example, recently pointed out in a memo that it can be dangerous to predict the future based on current trends. Although the four companies have dominated their sectors, there might be some headwinds.

Some politicians, for example, have asked whether there needs to be more oversight over the process to ensure Russians don’t hack American elections in the future. Barron’s also published an article with the headline, ‘Break Up Tech’ Bears also complain that some of the companies have monopolistic tendencies.

Given those headwinds, tech companies aren’t as sure of a bet as they were before. But for long term investors, many still are very attractive, with wide moats, fast growth, good management, and long term focus. Warren Buffett, after all, invested in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) just in the past few years. FANG stocks might not outperform the S&P every year, but they could still offer plenty of good value if management continues to execute.

Disclosure: None