FinTech Stocks Still Attractive, Market Overreacting to Visa’s Cross-Border Travel Outlook
November 1, 2021
Image: Visa continues to rake in the free cash flow. Though its outlook is clouded somewhat by recovering cross-border travel transaction volumes, we still like its asset-light, free-cash-flow rich business model. By Brian Nelson, CFA It’s easy to lose sight of everyday life when we hear stories about the latest and greatest cryptocurrency or the next iteration of yet another ETF that centers on one theme or another, but when we take a step back, almost all of us are still using and continuing to use one of a few payment options. Maybe it’s your Visa (V) Card, your Mastercard (MA), Discover (DFS) Card, American Express (AXP) Card, Capital One Financial (COH) Card or perhaps PayPal (PYPL), Stripe, or Square
Don’t Throw Out These Garbage Stocks
November 1, 2021
Image Source: Republic Services By Brian Nelson, CFA The waste hauler industry is one of the most attractive in our coverage. It boasts recession-resistant characteristics, and its oligopolistic structure translates into strong pricing power for those that have disposal capacity. One thing that we can count on besides death and taxes is garbage, and while society is taking steps to limit waste, it’s something that will always be a part of the economic system. It’s easy to get excited about what’s happening in cryptocurrency or be enthralled by the latest and greatest ETF, but sometimes the most boring of stocks can make for some exciting returns. According to data from Seeking Alpha, Republic Services (RSG) has boasted a near-40% year-to-date
Apple Remains a Free Cash Flow Generating Powerhouse
October 29, 2021
Image Shown: Apple Inc remained a free cash flow generating powerhouse in fiscal 2021. Key line-items are underlined in red and blue. Image Source: Apple Inc – Fourth Quarter of Fiscal 2021 Financial Supplement with additions from the author By Callum Turcan On October 28, Apple Inc (AAPL) reported fourth-quarter earnings for fiscal 2021 (period ended September 25, 2021) that missed consensus top-line estimates and matched consensus bottom-line estimates. Apple’s CEO, Tim Cook, noted during the firm’s latest earnings call that “we set a new September quarter record of $83.4 billion” though “supply constraints” weighed negatively on its performance and “had around a $6 billion revenue dollar impact” last fiscal quarter. Silicon shortages were cited as a key headwind, with
Facebook Changes Name to Meta (MVRS), Explains the Metaverse
October 29, 2021
Video: Meta’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg sharing his vision for the metaverse.
Microsoft: Net Cash Rich, Free Cash Flow Generating, Dividend Growth Powerhouse
October 28, 2021
Image: Microsoft remains one of the most attractive technology companies. Its outlook for the second quarter of fiscal 2022 came in better than expected. Image Source: Microsoft By Brian Nelson, CFA Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) reported excellent first-quarter fiscal 2022 results on Tuesday, October 26, that exceeded the consensus estimate on both the top and bottom lines. In the quarter, Microsoft’s revenue jumped an impressive 22% on a year-over-year basis, and the company was able to leverage that strong top-line growth into a year-over-year operating-income advance of 27%. Diluted earnings per share on a GAAP and non-GAAP basis increased 49% and 25%, respectively, from the same quarter a year ago – these are absolutely huge growth numbers for a company as
Alphabet Launches Higher
October 28, 2021
Image: Our fair value estimate of Alphabet has continued to lead the stock higher, and shares continued to deliver following the company’s third-quarter report, released October 28. By Brian Nelson, CFA Our long-term thesis and the top weighting of Google parent company, Alphabet (GOOG) (GOOGL) in the Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio is unchanged following the company’s fantastic third-quarter report, released October 28. During the period, revenue advanced 41% on a year-over-year basis as the company’s operating margin swelled ~8 percentage points to drive diluted earnings per share to $27.99, beating consensus by nice margin. We’re reiterating our $3,500 fair value estimate for shares. Here is what Sundar Pichai, CEO of Alphabet and Google had to say in the press release:
Lockheed Martin Shocks the Market
October 27, 2021
Image: After years of backlog growth at Lockheed Martin, the third quarter of 2021 revealed a sharp year-over-year decline to the tune of ~8.3%. The company’s outlook also left a lot to be desired. By Brian Nelson, CFA Lockheed Martin (LMT) reported mixed third-quarter 2021 results Tuesday, October 26, but “mixed” might be too gracious of a word. Though it did beat the consensus number for third-quarter non-GAAP earnings per share, revenue didn’t just miss marginally, but by more than a $1 billion, with the top line falling 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. Clearly, Lockheed had promised more than it could deliver, and we had been taken in by the optimism. We expect to lower our fair value estimate. There’s
Digital Realty Boosts Guidance and Further Extends Growth Runway
October 27, 2021
Image Source: Digital Realty Trust Inc – Third Quarter of 2021 IR Earnings Presentation By Callum Turcan On October 26, Digital Realty Trust Inc (DLR) posted third quarter 2021 earnings that beat both consensus top- and bottom-line estimates. The data center real estate investment trust (‘REIT’) saw its GAAP operating revenues come in at $1.1 billion (up 11% year-over-year) and its non-GAAP core funds from operations (‘FFO’) per share come in at $1.65 per share (up 7% year-over-year) last quarter. Digital Realty also increased its guidance in conjunction with its latest earnings report, which we appreciate, as that signals the REIT is growing confident that it will exit 2021 on a high note. Digital Realty’s business is steadily recovering after
I Don’t Know How Lucky I Am, Do You?
October 26, 2021
Image: The category of large cap growth (SCHG) has outperformed a 60/40 stock/bond rebalanced portfolio (VBIAX) by ~310 percentage points the past 10 years. Image Source: Morningstar. By Brian Nelson, CFA Hi everyone. I hope you all are doing well. It’s been a while since I wrote a personal message, but today, I thought it would be worthwhile to share my ever-evolving opinion on the world of financial markets. First, let me start with Facebook (FB). Hopefully, I set your expectations very low for the social media giant’s third-quarter report because this one is a long-term holding. Shares are dirt cheap, and while sentiment has moved against it, we’re going to “hold” strong in the Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio (1).
Schlumberger Recovering, Outlook Bright
October 26, 2021
Image Shown: Shares of Schlumberger NV are on the upswing, though the company’s stock price remains far below levels seen before the COVID-19 pandemic. By Callum Turcan On October 22, the oilfield services giant Schlumberger NV (SLB) reported third-quarter 2021 earnings that missed consensus top-line estimates and matched consensus bottom-line estimates. The company’s business continues to recover as oil & gas investment activity is picking up steam around the globe after getting decimated last year in the face of the coronavirus (‘COVID-19’) pandemic. Looking ahead, Schlumberger expects significant improvement in its mid-cycle financial performance from current levels, aided by major cost structure improvements embarked on last year. Financial Snapshot The firm’s GAAP revenues grew by 11% year-over-year due to growth
