Michael Pachter

Michael Pachter is an oft-quoted video game, social media, digital media and electronics analyst with Wedbush Securities. He is also the Head of Research for the Private Shares Group, a Wedbush division which focuses on companies which have not yet gone public such as Facebook (pre-IPO) and Twitter. He is regularly cited by national publications in the United States, including The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, and the Wall Street Journal.

Previous careers

Pachter has two law degrees.

Pachter worked for 16 years at Arco. He was Arco's director of strategic planning until mid-1998, where he earned a figure in the "high-$100,000s." He said he enjoyed his job there. However, upon hearing that layoffs would come at the company, he asked for "a handsome severance" and received one.

He got a Master of Business Administration degree in 1989, and after leaving Arco, went on to work at a mergers-and-acquisition company located in Seal Beach, California in 1999, providing investment banking services to privately held companies.

Pachter previously worked as director of research at Wedbush Morgan Securities. For example, in 2001 he analyzed American Home, saying "They're really a service company."

Video game-related analysis

Pachter is often known for his analysis of video game-related topics. He sometimes comments on specific video games, often with sales projections. With regards to Madden NFL 07, for instance, he said "It could do 1 million units in 5 days." Beyond specific titles, Pachter also analyses specific video game companies. In 2007, for example, he analyzed the state of Electronic Arts by saying "They've made tons of ProgresS." He even analyzes company financials. For example, in 2004 he called Activision's sales estimates too cautious, suggesting that investors "[...] like optimism. We don't like conservatism." He once analyzed the future of major Japanese video game companies, suggesting that Nintendo and Sony were in good financial health but that Capcom could face a buyout because of their valuable franchises.

Pachter is known to also analyze other aspects of the video game industry, such as retailers. He spoke positively of the GameStop-EB Games merger in 2005, arguing that "initial sellthrough will likely be higher than in the past." Regarding the video game industry as a whole, he issues statements such as "Software sales were remarkable." Pachter believes that all video games will be streamed from the cloud by 2050. He believes the change will benefit everyone but retailers and low-income gamers who rely on used games.

Reflecting on cross-cultural differences, Pachter praised Japanese game developers but noted their inability to break through in the West, saying "The Japanese development community is supremely talented … but they aren’t raised in Western culture, they don’t think like Westerners, so we aren’t seeing the same type of games produced by them."

At times, Pachter criticizes the sentiments of video gamers. For example, with regard to controversy over the ending of Mass Effect 3, he said "That incident was a great example of what a whiny group gamers are in general," saying that "[game publisher Electronic Arts] handled it fine." He argued that gamers should be less demanding, or else "whiny gamers are only going to cause their beloved games to take even longer between episodes."

At other times, he has criticized corporate practices and defend the concerns of video gamers. For example, he said that including content on a video game disc that is not available unless purchased is "just plain greed." He suggested that gamers would resist on disc DLC and force game publishers to change tactics.

Pachter hosts his own online show called Pach-Attack!

Electronics-related analysis

Pachter provides research coverage on digital media, social media, electronics retailers and movie exhibitors. As part of his research coverage, he issues buy, sell, or hold ratings on publicly traded stocks, provides earnings estimates, and sets 12-month price targets. For example, in 2007 he issued a sell rating on Netflix.

Pachter generated controversy in 2012 with comments about Facebook chief executive officer Mark Zuckerberg. He said the CEO's decision to wear a hoodie to an initial public offering-related meeting indicated Zuckerberg's "immaturity." He suggested Zuckerberg should serve as chief product officer instead. While his view accorded with that of much of Wall Street, technology industry critics responded angrily. Technology blogger Kara Swisher called him a "doofus." Pachter explained his statements by saying, "I think that there are institutions that deserve to be shown appropriate respect." He ultimately defended his position, by arguing that "many investors feel the same way that I do."

Political views

Pachter supports same-[...] marriage, jokingly explaining that "gay people should be allowed to be as miserable as the rest of us married people." Pachter opposes labor unions at game studios, suggesting that the companies already "pay people a lot of money."