Five years ago, on March 11, 2020, an announcement marked the history of humanity: the World Health Organization (WHO) decreed the state of pandemic due to the advance of COVID-19. In addition to sanitary effects, the disease deeply impacted business. The economic effects of social isolation and new consumer habits have overthrown some sectors, while others saw demand grow after changes.
One of the most important lessons of the crisis in the economy was about the need to quickly adapt to changes and be present in digital channels, says Jeff Patzlaff, financial planner and investment specialist. The pandemic also “exposed the need to have robust contingency plans and companies that had financial reserves and risk management strategies have managed to better cross the crisis.”
Check out some of the most striking impacts:
Who lost…
Education
The digitization process in educational institutions was brutally accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic. On March 16, 2020, all face -to -face activities at colleges and schools were suspended, which forced higher education institutions to migrate for distance learning for a while.
The crisis also affected the pockets of Brazilians and made thousands of students abandon their studies. In cogna (), owner of Anhanguera, Pythagoras and Uniderp, there was a 28.6% drop in the number of classroom students in 2020. Despite the 17.8% advance in EAD enrollment, the company closed the year with a loss of $ 589 million, as online yields less for companies in the sector.
Continues after advertising
Also read:
The companies in the sector listed on the stock exchange have not yet recovered the lost market value because of the pandemic. Anima () fell 77.8%in the last five years, cogna () lost 75.11%, YDUQS (yudq3) retreated 69.2%. Southern Cruise () Listed later, in February 2021, it accumulated loss of 75.6% since then.
While the sector faced the challenges of the pandemic, “technology was essential in the evolution of teaching, allowing the simulation of real interactions such as business meetings and informal conversations,” says Eduardo Santos, senior vice president and director general of EF Education First for Latin America.
Continues after advertising
Turismo
Among the sectors most affected by the closures, Brazilian tourism bitter 59% in revenues in 2020, according to the Ministry of Tourism. After 20 quarters of injury, CVC () scored net income in the fourth quarter of 2024. The shares, however, still plummeted 85.6% since the beginning of the health crisis in Brazil.
Another highlight of the segment in the last five years has been 123 miles, which filed a judicial recovery in August 2023. The main impact on the company took place in the reopening of the economy, when there was an increase in search for travel after flexibility in circulation rules. Air ticket prices and accommodation have fired and the company failed to pay for promotional prices already contracted.
Continues after advertising
Aviation
The impact of pandemic on the air sector was immediate: by 2020, there was a 53% drop in the number of passengers and 29.6% in cargo transportation compared to the previous year, according to the IBGE (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics).
The crisis was the trigger for Latam’s judicial recovery in the United States, a lawsuit that dragged on from May 2020 to November 2022. Gol () is in judicial recovery in the US and intends to leave the condition until May. Azul () was also strongly affected by the fall in demand, but reached an agreement with creditors that avoided RJ.
Continues after advertising
Traded at R $ 3.74 currently, Azul’s shares have dropped 84.8% in the last five years. In the same period, Gol’s roles bitter 87.4%.
Also read:
Restaurants
Continues after advertising
Brazilian Association of Bars and Restaurants (Abrasel) estimates that 40% of food specialized restaurants have closed in Brazil until June 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The count showed 335,000 bars and restaurants so far and 1.3 million extinct jobs.
Haroldo Silva, vice president of Corecon-SP, comments that there was migration to online consumption, “damaging the business that did not digitize.” In addition, “these companies have continued their costs almost fully maintained, but without prescription.”
… And who won?
Streaming
Platform services such as Netflix, Spotify, Prime Video, YouTube Music, Disney+ and Globoplay became part of most Brazilians’ daily life after the pandemic. A survey by the FSB Research Institute showed that 75% of Brazilians used streaming platforms in 2022.
Another survey, conducted in 2021 by Kantar Ibope Media, showed that being more time at home because of social distancing was determining for 30% in the decision to sign the platforms that deliver entertainment.
In August last year, Serasa showed, in a survey, that Brazilians sign, on average, two streaming services and spend $ 100 per month on signatures. 40% said they were afraid of indebtedness because of the various signatures on the platforms.
Logistics
The logistics sector was another of the benefits of increased demand with new postpandeia consumption behaviors. With more people buying online and retailers fighting to get to consumers faster, the companies of the port, road and rail segment have managed to capture better results.
With this, the real estate funds that invest in rented logistics sheds for e -commerce companies.
Cloud computing
The exponential increase in Internet traffic during social isolation generated a rapid expansion of global infrastructure, especially cloud computing services. In an interview with CrazyStupidtech, Matthew Prince, CLOUDFLARE CEO, said the Covid-19 pandemic played a crucial role in accelerating network and cloud technologies.
Online growth has also triggered a series of investments in artificial intelligence, but large technology companies do not yet have such relevant revenue generation with AI as it is already possible with the cloud.
The cloud computing divisions of Amazon (AWS), Microsoft (Azure) and Google (GCP) do not stop growing. AWS revenue rose 30% in the fourth quarter of 2024 compared to the same period of the previous year to US $ 28.79 billion. Microsoft had a 21% increase in revenue, which reached $ 40.9 billion, while Alphabet, Google’s owner, earned $ 11.95%, 30% than the 4T23.
