Roblox, Shopify Show Covid-19 Boon Also Has a Bust
- Companies seen as pandemic winners buffeted as lockdowns ease
- Airbnb among few sustaining the gains made in the past year
Shopify headquarters in Toronto.
Photographer: Kevin Van Paassen/Bloomberg
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While much of the Western world is cheering the waning effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, some companies whose businesses were most affected by global lockdowns are seeing a return to normal in a different light.
Roblox Corp., a social platform that enables players to create their own online games and worlds, captured the attention of as much as two-thirds of U.S. kids ages 9 to 12 during the pandemic. Its shares soared 130% last year. That success also made the company vulnerable when tweens were called back to classrooms, sports and other activities.