The occurrence of a pandemic is rare. A quick reading of history can only reveal a few in the last four millennia, and yet, a pandemic can leave economies reeling on the floor. In most of the cases, the financial impact is subtle that takes years of training to understand. But that is not the case with COVID-19. This time, it is rapid, hard-hitting, and revelatory.

Businesses Benefiting from Coronavirus?

You do not need an expert to spell out the financial crunches. With industries undergoing lockdowns, people getting pay cuts, and pink slips, it is evident that several industries are plummeting. But there are exceptions. Businesses benefiting from coronavirus are not many, but they are notable. Let’s take a look at these and check out what helped them stay abreast.

Pharmaceutical Industry

As the pandemic rages on, the demand to find a quick cure is getting fuel. It is not just about finding a quick cure to treat the disease; finding a vaccine is also important to prevent a possible second wave. Countries have joined hands with pharmaceutical companies to boost the process.

Gilead is getting traction as its Remdisivir is fast becoming the choicest preference to treat the disease. The antiviral drug received a Compassionate Use Program (CUP) status and is getting backed by the government as a front-runner in the market
Pfizer’s Prevnar 13 is now in huge demand and the company has already inked a deal with BioNTech to discover a COVID-19 vaccine
Bayer’s Resochin is in high demand to treat patients with COVID-19. The safer hydroxychloroquine’s demand has grown multifold. The Indian government has boosted the production process to support the need and treatment of asymptomatic patients.
Diabetic patients have a greater risk of succumbing to coronavirus. Eli Lilly has lent a supportive hand by opening up customer service to counter the problem
Astrazeneca’s Chinese association is predicted to impact the company prospect adversely. But its Calquence is growing popular in treating COVID-19 patients, which can bring back the company on track

Medical Accessories Industry

The basic safety measures for the fight against COVID-19 require ventilators to ease respiratory troubles, PPEs, masks, hand sanitizers, test kits, and others. The stressful period is witnessing manufacturing companies for these essential products running at full capacity.

A lot of new companies from different fields are helping out with the production. In fact, researchers are coming up with new products to support the front-line fighters.

Macrogen announced that they received green signal for their AxenTM COVID-19 RT’s export, a COVID-19 test kit
Ferrari teamed up with Genoa-based Italian Institute of Technology to develop a low-cost ventilator
MG Motor India and Max Ventilators are now working together to speed up the production process

Logistics/ Delivery

Due to lockdowns in several countries, the logistics segment is witnessing a plummet. Social distancing has forced a lot of people to stay indoors and the number of people willing to go to stores has dropped significantly. This has given rise to the demand for e-commerce services. That is why governments have granted sites permission to deliver essentials to reduce the chance of contracting the disease from any gathering.

In the UK, Deliveroo launched a new “no-contact drop-off service” to maintain the safety standard
Walmart’s online sales have sky-rocketed. The Q1 segment witnessed a rise in sales by 74%
Shares of Tritax Eurobox witnessed a jump in the valuation as the company reported a rise in the demand for logistics warehouses

Video Conferencing

People are now forced to work from home as offices are closed to maintain the government guidelines. If you believe that this will get over once the government eases the rules, then you are mistaken.

A lot of companies have already announced a prolonged ‘Work from Home’. This is to cut down the establishment cost and recover the losses. Companies are equipping themselves with the latest digital technologies to maintain a smooth workflow and that is where video conferencing sites are playing a crucial role and businesses benefiting from coronavirus.

Zoom, a video-conferencing startup, has benefited from the process. It has reported a rise in the company’s sales and shares by 50%
Cisco’s Webex recorded 20billion meeting minutes in just the month of April. In March, the number was 14 billion. This proves the rise is significant
Vuzix Corporation launched M400 Smart Glasses with voice commands to reduce contact during calls. It can work fine with Zoom, Zoom for Healthcare, and Skype for Business

Entertainment Streaming and Gaming

Staying indoors, all the time, can be boring. That is why people are opting for Netflix, Amazon Prime, and other streaming sites and online gaming channels. This has led to an unprecedented spike in the revenues for all these sites.

In Europe, from January till March, Netflix added 4.4 million new subscribers. The global number reached 9 million during that time frame
Amazon is not far behind in terms of marketing strategies that can help it in making big. It launched a free video game Crucible that is quite similar to that of Overwatch, Fortnite, and League of Legends. The site is planning to benefit from the COVID-19 situation
In just April, Facebook Gaming witnessed a 238% rise in hours watched. This is massive. Twitch registered a 101% rise during the same period. YouTube Gaming is also among businesses benefiting from coronavirus.

Conclusion:

Industries will witness a lot of strategic shifts. It is not just about functioning during the COVID-19 pandemic. These businesses benefiting from coronavirus will also experience a slump after the lockdowns get over. Companies like Netflix are already making plans to counter those slides to stay ahead of the rest.

Such has been the impact of coronavirus that this period has also revealed several loopholes in how governments have handled infrastructures previously. The healthcare industry is exposed even in developed countries, showing how much support the industry still needs from diverse sources. Also, for industries like e-commerce, this is a good time to plan for the coming days. One thing is certain that it is time to brainstorm and get back to boards to form strategies.