Valuentum Exclusive Analysis for the Discerning Investor

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Oct 30, 2022

Something New!
Hi everyone: To stay true to our mission, you'll find something new regarding our methodology. In the coming weeks, you'll see this table in our work going forward.

Oct 19, 2022

New Payment Option! Valuentum Research Update!
We're excited to say that we're adding additional payment flexibility at Valuentum. Many members have expressed interest in paying via other providers, and we have added Square to the mix. You can use credit or debit card or bank (ACH) to pay via invoice. With all of the goings-on in the financial technology and payments space, we wanted to continue to provide members options to pay their memberships how they want and through who they want. You can always reach out to us at info@valuentum.com.

Feb 25, 2022

Update: Analyzing Valuentum’s Economic Castle Index: A Walk Forward Case Study
There are two things generally wrong with a pure economic moat assessment, or economic “moat factor.” First, it is much easier to assess outsize economic returns in the near-term than it is to assess outsize economic returns over the long haul. Quite simply, nobody can predict what will happen tomorrow, and they certainly don’t know what will happen 20 or 30 years from now. Second, a rational investor should generally prefer expected near-term outsize economic returns than expected long-term ones given the uncertainty of the latter--somewhat related to our first point, a bird in the hand (or large economic returns in the near term) is worth two in the bush (or large economic returns in the long run that may not materialize). The time value of money reinforces this notion. Near-term economic returns are generally worth more than long-term ones in real terms, even if they may be smaller nominally. This is where our Economic Castle rating comes in. The goal of the Economic Castle rating is to identify those companies that are likely to generate a lot (or not so much) shareholder value over the foreseeable future. Instead of pondering a guess as to how the landscape will look 20 or 30 years from now, something not even the Oracle of Omaha can do with any sort of certainty (e.g. IBM, KHC), the Economic Castle rating ranks companies based on near-term expected economic returns, or returns that are more likely to be realized as opposed to those that may be built on “castles in the air” over 20-30 time horizons. By evaluating companies on the basis of the spread between their forecasted future return on invested capital (‘ROIC’) excluding goodwill less their estimated weighted-average cost of capital (‘WACC’), we measure a company’s ability to generate an “economic profit” over the foreseeable future, which we define as the next five fiscal years. Companies that generate a forecasted spread of 50 percentage points or more are given a “Very Attractive” Economic Castle rating and firms that are forecasted to generate a spread of 150 percentage points or higher are considered “Highest-Rated”. Firms that carry an Unattractive Economic Castle rating are those that are forecasted to generate a forward ROIC (ex-goodwill) less estimated WACC spread that’s meaningfully below zero (firms near economic parity can receive a Neutral Economic Castle rating, assigned by the Valuentum team).

Feb 25, 2020

Our Reports on Stocks in the Electrical Equipment Industry
Image Source: Emerson. We've optimized our industrials coverage.

Aug 12, 2016

Industrials Empty Tool Box Amid Tough Operating Environment
Let’s take a look at calendar second-quarter reports for a variety of industrial entities.

Jun 7, 2015

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week Ending June 5
Let's take a look at companies raising/lowering their dividends this week.

Jun 22, 2014

Valuentum Economic Castle™ Rating Update
Members should expect the initial Economic Castle™ ratings.

Jun 9, 2014

Dividend Increases for the Week Ending June 6
Let's take a look at dividend increases for the week ending June 6.

Sep 29, 2013

Keeping Some Dry Powder
Equity valuations have become stretched with the forward price-to-earnings multiple on S&P 500 companies now greater than both its 5-year and 10-year averages. We don't think this bodes well for indexers, buy-and-hold strategies, or those focused purely on asset allocation. We're keeping some dry powder.

Jun 7, 2013

Dividend Increases for the Week Ending June 7
Let's look at the dividend increases for this week.