# Businesses that either won’t be hurt or will profit during the COVID-19 crisis **URL:** \ **Category:** The Quarantine Zone\ **Tags:** covid-quarantine\ **Created:** [March 24, 2020, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/businesses-that-either-won-t-be-hurt-or-will-profit-during-the-covid-19-crisis/850150 "2020-03-24T05:15:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![OldOlds](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a3d4f5/32.png) [@OldOlds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldOlds)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2020, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/businesses-that-either-won-t-be-hurt-or-will-profit-during-the-covid-19-crisis/850150/21 "2020-03-24T16:33:32Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > My client buys and sells industrial manufacturing equipment. Stuff used in pharmaceutical, chemical & food plants. Almost everything in their business can be done without human contact, except maybe someone has to physically sign for the machines at some point. > > I have no idea if they’ll do well or do poorly in all this. On one hand, they touch industries that could be booming. On the other hand, with the global economy being off, I’m not sure how much companies want to invest in new (used) machinery. Well, I’m in pharmaceutical development. So we’re seeing all our clinical trials come to a screeching halt. Because who is going to participate in a trial in this environment? Thing is, some substantial portion of the pharma industry is developing, making, and testing products that aren’t yet marketed, and therefore aren’t essential\* \*Unless you just happen to be working on a product that might help with this particular pandemic. ---
**Author:** ![skdo23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@skdo23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/skdo23)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2020, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/businesses-that-either-won-t-be-hurt-or-will-profit-during-the-covid-19-crisis/850150/22 "2020-03-24T16:47:08Z")
> [@dorvann](#): > > OK I know you somewhat joking but they are probably aren’t going to be doing as good business as you think. > > Mostly because the economic downturn means people aren’t going to be able to afford expensive caskets, funerals, and cemetary plots. > > The crematoriums and mortuaries maybe busy but they could end being stuck with people unable to pay. Also, in many of the newspaper obits I’ve read recently, the families of the deceased are opting to forgo or at least postpone services due to the risks of exposure to those who attend. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2020, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/businesses-that-either-won-t-be-hurt-or-will-profit-during-the-covid-19-crisis/850150/23 "2020-03-24T17:11:10Z")
> [@psychobunny](#): > > As a primary care doctor, I’m already hurting. We are cancelling all appointments for elderly patients. Most routine things we are handling over the telephone, for which we do not get paid. I am not seeing enough patients to cover overhead but am doing twice as much work with all the telephone calls. Not everybody in healthcare is cleaning up. You should count your lucky stars. In some places they are calling up retired Doctors and nurses as well as medical students, in Italy they have put _psychiatrists_ on duty. Pray it remains the same, since I suspect that if it gets worse you might be called up. OP. Lawyers are hurting now, but when this ends, the litigation due to cancelled, underperformed and frustrated contracts will be huge and a lot of lucrative business. Accountants are busy right now. ---
**Author:** ![russian\_heel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f05b48/32.png) [@russian\_heel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/russian_heel)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2020, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/businesses-that-either-won-t-be-hurt-or-will-profit-during-the-covid-19-crisis/850150/24 "2020-03-24T17:14:21Z")
> [@duffer](#): > > I hope my company still profits. It’s how I get paid. Maybe the OP was poorly worded. Or companies are supposed to lose money. Not sure where this is going. Sorry. This wasn’t a poll about who cares if there are companies that profit in these circumstances or how it effects employees personal lives. It is a cold hard profit/loss question. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2020, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/businesses-that-either-won-t-be-hurt-or-will-profit-during-the-covid-19-crisis/850150/25 "2020-03-24T17:30:39Z")
> [@joebuck20](#): > > > [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](#): > > > > Hospitals will get hurt- staffs will be significantly infected. But yes, they will be doing more business. > > I imagine hospitals also will be stuck with a bunch of unpaid bills, either from people who are out of work and have no insurance, or people who are insured, but have really crappy insurance. Some hospital systems announced they won’t pursue patients for COVID-19 related care. So in addition to that loss in revenue, some hospitals are cancelling elective surgeries during the crisis, so they’re not getting revenues from that. And they are incurring all sorts of additional expense due to the crisis; additional cleaning, additional staff, additional PPE. I expect many hospitals are going to lose money during the crisis. ---
**Author:** ![russian\_heel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f05b48/32.png) [@russian\_heel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/russian_heel)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2020, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/businesses-that-either-won-t-be-hurt-or-will-profit-during-the-covid-19-crisis/850150/26 "2020-03-24T17:32:35Z")
> [@scr4](#): > > I’m not sure about online media streaming either. Sure, there are a lot more people with time to kill. But there are also a lot more people who become unemployed or furloughed, and desperately cutting down on unnecessary expenses. > **[Netflix Market Cap Surpasses Disney Amid ‘Stay at Home’ Orders](https://finance.yahoo.com/news/netflix-market-cap-surpasses-disney-123801623.html)** > > (Bloomberg) -- Walt Disney Co. shares have tumbled amid the coronavirus pandemic, and the sell-off has resulted in a smaller valuation than video-streaming company Netflix Inc., a reflection of what segments of the media ecosystem are favored in an... Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![russian\_heel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f05b48/32.png) [@russian\_heel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/russian_heel)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2020, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/businesses-that-either-won-t-be-hurt-or-will-profit-during-the-covid-19-crisis/850150/27 "2020-03-24T17:34:38Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Some hospital systems announced they won’t pursue patients for COVID-19 related care. So in addition to that loss in revenue, some hospitals are cancelling elective surgeries during the crisis, so they’re not getting revenues from that. And they are incurring all sorts of additional expense due to the crisis; additional cleaning, additional staff, additional PPE. I expect many hospitals are going to lose money during the crisis. Yeah I may actually have that one wrong. A local hospital is threatening to close if it doesn’t get a $40 million bailout: > **[Easton Hospital needs $40 million by Wednesday or it will close, letter to...](https://www.mcall.com/2020/03/24/easton-hospital-needs-40-million-by-wednesday-or-it-will-close-letter-to-gov-tom-wolf-says/)** > > Easton Hospital’s corporate owner and St. Luke’s University Health Network told Gov. Tom Wolf that Easton Hospital needs about $40 million by Wednesday to keep it running or the facilit… Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![Trom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@Trom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trom)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2020, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/businesses-that-either-won-t-be-hurt-or-will-profit-during-the-covid-19-crisis/850150/28 "2020-03-24T18:05:47Z")
Crude oil tankers. There’s a huge over-supply of oil on the global market due to the Saudi increase in production and the drop off in demand due to the virus. A month ago Very Large Crude Carriers were being chartered for $20k/day. Last week that number was $300k+/day. ---
**Author:** ![psychobunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/54ee81/32.png) [@psychobunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychobunny)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2020, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/businesses-that-either-won-t-be-hurt-or-will-profit-during-the-covid-19-crisis/850150/29 "2020-03-24T18:46:57Z")
> [@](#): > > You should count your lucky stars. In some places they are calling up retired Doctors and nurses as well as medical students, in Italy they have put psychiatrists on duty. > Pray it remains the same, since I suspect that if it gets worse you might be called up. Believe me-we are well aware. A colleague of mine has described is as a war in which we’re just waiting for our draft numbers to be called. The question is-what happens if we are drafted. Obviously, my private practice will go bankrupt and who knows how or even if I would be paid for my work. As far as telemedicine goes, there is only so much you can do over the phone. If you are dealing with private pay patients or people who need things like marijuana prescriptions and are willing to pay, it’s feasible but it’s harder dealing with insurances. Up until recently, Medicare only paid if the patient was located in an area without access to doctors. Here are their previous rules: > [@](#): > > What it is > Medicare telehealth services include office visits, psychotherapy, consultations, and certain other medical or health services that are provided by an eligible provider who isn’t at your location using an interactive 2-way telecommunications system (like real-time audio and video). > > These services are available in rural areas, under certain conditions, but only if you’re located at one of these places: > > A doctor’s office > A hospital > A critical access hospital (CAH) > A rural health clinic > A federally qualified health center > A hospital-based dialysis facility > A skilled nursing facility > A community mental health center They have loosened this up for the current crisis to include visits with the patient at home, but most doctors not in rural areas are not set up for telemedicine. In addition, not every patient is tech savvy enough to have video conferencing available at home. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2020, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/businesses-that-either-won-t-be-hurt-or-will-profit-during-the-covid-19-crisis/850150/30 "2020-03-24T20:41:28Z")
> [@russian\_heel](#): > > [Netflix Market Cap Surpasses Disney Amid ‘Stay at Home’ Orders](https://finance.yahoo.com/news/netflix-market-cap-surpasses-disney-123801623.html) Sure, Netflix stock is doing OK (it’s still down from 2 weeks ago but not as much as others). But that’s just the short-term response. It will probably change as this situation drags on and more people lose jobs. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2020, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/businesses-that-either-won-t-be-hurt-or-will-profit-during-the-covid-19-crisis/850150/31 "2020-03-24T22:28:53Z")
> [@dorvann](#): > > The crematoriums and mortuaries maybe busy but they could end being stuck with people unable to pay. My grandparents were funeral directors during the Great Depression. Oh, sure, they had plenty of customers but supposedly more than one funeral/burial was paid for by chickens or similar barter. They did alright, but they didn’t get rich. ---
**Author:** ![echoreply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/echoreply/32/3641_2.png) [@echoreply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/echoreply)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2020, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/businesses-that-either-won-t-be-hurt-or-will-profit-during-the-covid-19-crisis/850150/32 "2020-03-25T04:07:57Z")
How about [this article](https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/epg75n/bored-people-flooding-best-buy-office-depot-lowes-sherwin-williams-during-coronavirus), which claims that bored people are shopping for entertainment. An anonymous Lowe’s employee said they did $100,000 more than usual in one day of business, and people weren’t buying cleaning or other essential supplies. So, some places may do well just because they’re open, and people aren’t bothering to isolate ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2020, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/businesses-that-either-won-t-be-hurt-or-will-profit-during-the-covid-19-crisis/850150/33 "2020-03-25T04:28:14Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Can you explain why not? I was chatting with a friend who is an MD in Europe. He has offered some form of telemed for a while now. He is doing phone consults almost exclusively right now and refers things that need seen to the ER. > > I’m in PA and my recent appointment for Medical Marijuana Re-certification was done over the phone. The receptionist called me at my appointment time, took my credit card information, then transferred me to the doctor’s phone (she was at home). We talked for five minutes and I was good to go! She was paid $125 for 5 minutes of her time. There’s a big difference between a telemedicine visit which is, I presume, billed to the patient or the insurer, and a routine call for something like a prescription refill. I’ve never been charged a fee when I leave a message saying I need a prescription refill to be phoned in (some doctors to say that they’ll assess a fee but it’s usually nominal). I expect a LOT of patients who otherwise would have seen the doctor (i.e. a fee would be involved) are doing what I did today, and contacting the doctor to get prescriptions filled to tide them over. So my doctor had to spend a few minutes of her time today looking at the message and authorizing some prescriptions. My dentist is probably losing her shirt in this, ditto my eye doctor - most things there are postponable and I’m sure some things won’t even get rescheduled. I don’t think grocers etc. will profit in the long term. Yes, they’re selling everything they can get in stock now, so their cash flow is doubtless up even if they are hiring people for overtime - but all that food I bought this week will reduce what I need next week and so on. They’ll also likely have some losses in terms of paid sick time (if they offer it) since more employees will be getting sick than usual. Delivery services will doubtless profit, at least from a fee standpoint, since a lot more people are ordering food deliveries from groceries and/or restaurants. Of course, the actual providers of the goods they are delivering are taking a hit (restaurants) or at best a temporary bump (grocers). Auto shops will be losing business. If I don’t have to go to the office (or if I’ve been furloughed), I’ll be driving a lot less, and likely postponing some maintenance. Ditto gas stations and the attached convenience stores. Companies that offer hotelling-type workspaces for their employees may decide that they can do with less fixed space since more people can telework. Good news for the companies, bad news for their landlords. From a longer-term perspective: grocers etc. will generally outlast recessions: doesn’t matter what else you have to give up, you have to eat something. My mother grew up during the Great Depression, and her family ran a large bakery that provided bread etc. for a fairly large area. People always needed bread. They lived in a large-ish house and had a full time maid. ---
**Author:** ![si\_blakely](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@si\_blakely](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/si_blakely)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2020, 7:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/businesses-that-either-won-t-be-hurt-or-will-profit-during-the-covid-19-crisis/850150/34 "2020-03-25T07:57:43Z")
IT companies that provide Remote Access Solutions that support remote working. Like the one I work for. We have been so busy supporting customers that need new solutions (often built on extended time eval licenses) or have over-stressed their existing solution and need to upgrade/scale up. It will be the same at our competitors, and at the companies that sell hypervisors for virtual infrastructure, and cloud server providers as people build new solutions on AWS/Google/Amazon … And at the end of all this, some employers are going to find it hard to pry employees from their new home office. This will mean a good proportion of those eval licenses will turn into real licenses, support contracts and hardware. I was always resistant to working from home, but it isn’t bad at all, and I get heaps more sleep. Our physical office space is going to downsize, I suspect. ---
**Author:** ![RedSky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/67e7ee/32.png) [@RedSky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RedSky)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2020, 8:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/businesses-that-either-won-t-be-hurt-or-will-profit-during-the-covid-19-crisis/850150/35 "2020-03-25T08:10:34Z")
White goods are still moving out the door, triple demand for washing powder, detergents, any cleaning product, I guess there might be a slump later. I relatively lucky working harder than ever although the ten percent pay rise due soon has evaporated. ---
**Author:** ![PoppaSan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/poppasan/32/189_2.png) [@PoppaSan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PoppaSan)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2020, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/businesses-that-either-won-t-be-hurt-or-will-profit-during-the-covid-19-crisis/850150/36 "2020-03-25T15:10:53Z")
> [@echoreply](#): > > How about [this article](https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/epg75n/bored-people-flooding-best-buy-office-depot-lowes-sherwin-williams-during-coronavirus), which claims that bored people are shopping for entertainment. An anonymous Lowe’s employee said they did $100,000 more than usual in one day of business, and people weren’t buying cleaning or other essential supplies. So, some places may do well just because they’re open, and people aren’t bothering to isolate We didn’t get the stay at home requirement until this week. I’ve been hitting the home improvement stores to get remodeling supplies for when I do have to stay home. ---
**Author:** ![PoppaSan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/poppasan/32/189_2.png) [@PoppaSan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PoppaSan)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2020, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/businesses-that-either-won-t-be-hurt-or-will-profit-during-the-covid-19-crisis/850150/37 "2020-03-25T15:15:49Z")
> [@russian\_heel](#): > > Grocers and food producers Some. I work for a food producer. We can barely keep up with retail sales. Unfortunately a majority of our sales are commercial and will take some time to rebound after this is over. There aren’t enough retail sales to compensate for the loss of commercial sales. We are planning for layoffs if this lasts into summer. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2020, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/businesses-that-either-won-t-be-hurt-or-will-profit-during-the-covid-19-crisis/850150/38 "2020-03-25T15:32:57Z")
> [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > I don’t think grocers etc. will profit in the long term. Yes, they’re selling everything they can get in stock now, so their cash flow is doubtless up even if they are hiring people for overtime - but all that food I bought this week will reduce what I need next week and so on. They’ll also likely have some losses in terms of paid sick time (if they offer it) since more employees will be getting sick than usual. With restaurant and bar closings, the grocery stores are capturing more of the food market. And once this blows over, I doubt everyone is going to finish off that last can of ravioli they bought “just in case” before they start shopping normally again. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2020, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/businesses-that-either-won-t-be-hurt-or-will-profit-during-the-covid-19-crisis/850150/39 "2020-03-25T17:20:08Z")
Banks are gonna keep on bankin’ through this. Good news for me, since I’m in the business of keeping the bad guys out of the bank’s computers and being sure the good guys can get in. All I ask is you think about the guy in Northern California that kept things running so your debit card worked at the grocery store. 😃 Thinking 3M may be seeing a small blip in sales of their blue painters’ tape. Miles of the stuff have been laid out on grocery store and pharmacy floors to mark social distancing positions. 3M’s also selling every N95 mask they can make right now. AFAIK, they are the dominant manufacturer of them. Anyone who sells medical supplies, particularly masks, eye shields, gowns, etc. Especially the big wholesale guys like McKesson, Covidien, and Medline. ---
**Author:** ![Teuton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/teuton/32/3864_2.png) [@Teuton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Teuton)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2020, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/businesses-that-either-won-t-be-hurt-or-will-profit-during-the-covid-19-crisis/850150/40 "2020-03-25T17:32:38Z")
I work for a major manufacturer of medical supplies in the UK, including ventilators and respirators. The messages going out are being very, very careful to avoid any suggestion of crisis profiting, and indeed we (like others in our position) are giving stuff away. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/businesses-that-either-won-t-be-hurt-or-will-profit-during-the-covid-19-crisis/850150.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/businesses-that-either-won-t-be-hurt-or-will-profit-during-the-covid-19-crisis/850150.md?page=3)