David played with his luxury pen gifted to him by the bank, leaning back casually deep in thought.
The price of Netscape will continue to increase until Microsoft finally decides to join the field. David only needs to pull out before all these chaotic times begin.
Many people might not know this, but the battle of Netscape and Microsoft will begin shortly, and this is not a coincidence.
Netscape went public on August 9, the stock is hot, and the price sharply increases. Soon after this, Microsoft released Internet Explorer. The date? August 16. Just a week after Netscape went public.
Some people might think it is a coincidence, but another eight days after the release of Internet Explorer, on August 24, Windows 95 was released.
Windows 95 was a huge deal for many people. When it launched, there were parties at midnight where people lined up at stores around the block.
In the United States, the Empire State Building in New York City was lit to match the colors of the Windows logo.
They even unfurled a massive, 100-meter or 330-foot banner down the side of the CN tower in Toronto.
Microsoft spent a reported $300 million on marketing alone.
In the end, they all their effort succeeded. The sales were strong, with one million copies shipped worldwide in just four days.
Along with the introduction of Windows 95, Microsoft released the 'Microsoft Plus!' for Windows 95 pack, which contained several optional components for high-end multimedia PCs, including Internet Explorer, DriveSpace, and many additional themes.
In short, everything was planned. This is no coincidence. From the beginning, the two sides, Netscape and Microsoft, are set to clash, and David is set to profit from their battles.
In fact, there was even a rumor that Microsoft made an offer to acquire Netscape in late 1994, but for various reasons, maybe Microsoft's offer was not high enough, or the Netscape leaders were full of confidence, so they were turned away.
There is a possibility that Microsoft wasn't expecting Netscape to achieve this much success in their IPO. Still, nonetheless, they should be expecting that they will be competitors for some time now.
So this meant that Internet Explorer is an inevitable product that will be launched in the future. The only question is when.
David smiled in satisfaction, leaning back cozily on his seat. He couldn't wait for the scheduled date to arrive.
...
Three days had passed just like that.
Unsurprisingly, the Netscape wave had only gotten bigger. The performance of Netscape shook many people's hearts around the world.
In the country, the media were igniting the flames further, pushing the idea of Netscape as the next big thing.
One of the founders of Netscape, Marc Andreessen's words, was spread around, saying that what they wanted to do was reduce Windows to a buggy set of device drivers underneath the browser, which would be the new top player that people would see and interact with.
Microsoft doesn't seem to be too happy about that. But they didn't know this yet.
In the trading room of the J.P. Morgan branch.
Alexander made a brief report of the current situation. This is all trivial info about the small changes in the prices and some of its expected forecast.
"Mr. Frost, it was basically confirmed that it would be tomorrow."
David gave a nod of confirmation. He already knows about the Internet Explorer launch tomorrow, but he has to shut his mouth and be quiet until he can gather information from a more credible source.
"Moreover, they will also launch their latest OS, Windows 95, on the 24th. They seemed to have added their internet browser on a pack with Windows 95, which will give them a lot of advantages."
David bent his arms on his chest and leaned back comfortably on his chair, nodding and smiling. I already knew it, but yes, just as I expected.
"How much is the Netscape stock now?
"It closed at $105 yesterday, but now it is going up and down of $107."
"I see. I think now is a good time. During this period, let's pull out slowly. If we can increase the price for a short time, let's do it as planned."
Alexander nodded with a hint of excitement on his face. Turning around, he immediately commanded everyone that was waiting for some time to begin trading.
Everyone had been waiting for this, and once they heard the words of their leader, they quickly turned their gaze downwards and started operating.
Soon, the entire room became busy like a real market. A huge sum of money was little by little being transmitted in their accounts, and the stock market started to become lively.
...
"Boss, someone is selling a huge volume of Netscape stock!"
"What? Buy it! Buy it! What are you waiting for?"
In some unknown office, a few people were working on their computers. In front of them was a screen filled with numbers.
One of the traders looked up towards their boss at the front, drinking his coffee and reading his newspaper, and shouted to notify him of the changes in the market.
"Boss, there is indeed a large volume, but it already exceeds our psychological price!"
"What?! How much is it?"
"$115"
Hearing the number, the boss opened and closed his mouth and immediately became lost in thought, contemplating this seemingly difficult decision. He was a little bit hesitant to pay so much for this stock.
Yes, he is indeed confident about this company, but the premium price is still a little bit painful for him.
While thinking about it under the gazes of his traders, in the corner of his eyes, he saw a smiling picture of the two founders of Netscape printed on the newspaper.
'Yes, we are confident that browsers are the future.'
'Netscape Navigator 2, coming soon!'
The boss steeled himself, looking towards his trades. He gave them a nod of confirmation, allowing them to quickly eat the available shares.
"Do it!"
But just as he took a sip of his coffee, another voice disturbed him of his peaceful thoughts.
"Boss!"
"What now?!"
"Boss, there's a few more available!"
"What? Didn't I just allow you to buy it?"
"Boss, we have already bought it, but the new ones are selling at $115.5."
"That's it? Just a little change. Buy!"
"Boss... it's $116..."
"Buy!
"$116.5"
"Buy!"
"$117"
"Buy!"
In many rooms, these exact same situations were occurring. Due to the small number of cheaper shares available on the market, the large volume of shares they were releasing immediately became the target of attention.
The volume they were selling almost took up a huge chunk of the tradable shares, which only ended up benefiting them.
...
Watching everyone slowly release the shares back to the market for a high price, David smiled with satisfaction.
It can be said that these days, David had spent a lot of effort on watching the market. Now, it's finally time for him to harvest the crops he planted.
"Mr. Frost, this is not a problem. According to the reaction of the market, we can easily release all our stocks by tomorrow."
David nodded. Maybe it is possible for them to sell everything today, but they wouldn't be able to sell them at a higher price.
Knowing this, David allowed them to continuously tease the market until tomorrow morning. This will ensure that the profits they will receive will be at their highest point.
Looking at the current price, Netscape's stock price is still steadily increasing. There is no reason to believe that they won't be able to cash everything out tomorrow.
Tomorrow, Internet Explorer will be released. There might be some slight decrease in the price, and they wanted to take full advantage of it.
In their current funds, a one percent profit will be more than a million. There is a lot at stake here, and David doesn't want to let even a single percentage go.