Crown Castle Continues to Shine
October 27, 2020
Image Shown: Crown Castle International Corp.’s growth trajectory continued in the third quarter of 2020. Image Source: Crown Castle International Corp. – Third Quarter of 2020 IR Earnings Presentation By Callum Turcan Crown Castle International Corp. (CCI)–3.3% yield (as of this writing)–is a real estate investment trust (‘REIT’) that owns 40,000+ cell towers, ~70,000 small cell nodes (on air or under contract) and ~80,000 route miles of fiber that support numerous networking operations all across the US. We include shares of Crown Castle as a holding in our High Yield Dividend Newsletter given its ability to generate sizable free cash flows even after investing heavily in expanding its asset base. From 2017 to 2019, Crown Castle generated ~$0.75 billion in
Energy Transfer’s Dividend Cut Not Enough, Needs to Slash It More
October 27, 2020
We expect another distribution cut from Energy Transfer in the not-too-distant future. Its traditional free cash flow generation is still too meager to cover its now-reduced distribution level, and the energy markets are simply not cooperating. The energy sector has been among the worst-performing equity sectors for some time now, and investor appetite for new equity and debt issuance is waning as return expectations are ratcheted down in a troubled energy resource environment. We expect more pain to come for Energy Transfer’s stock. Our fair value estimate stands at $4 per share. By Brian Nelson, CFA On October 26, Energy Transfer (ET) put an axe to its distribution, cutting the payout in half to $0.1525/unit on a quarterly basis,
Our Thoughts on Intel’s Latest Earnings Report
October 23, 2020
Image Shown: An overview of Intel Corporation’s performance during the first nine months of fiscal 2020. Image Source: Intel Corporation – Third Quarter of Fiscal 2020 IR Earnings Presentation By Callum Turcan On October 22, Intel Corporation (INTC) reported third quarter fiscal 2020 earnings (period ended September 26, 2020) that largely matched consensus expectations. Intel boosted its full-year outlook for fiscal 2020 on a net basis (which included an increase in its expected free cash flows this fiscal year) during its latest earnings update, though management reduced its forecast for Intel’s expected operating margins versus previous expectations. We continue to like Intel’s ability to generate sizable free cash flows, though we are concerned with its rising net debt load of
Our Thoughts on Philip Morris International’s Latest Earnings Report
October 23, 2020
Image Shown: Philip Morris International Inc has been able to maintain its global market share in the tobacco industry while pushing through price increases as indicated by its relatively strong ‘Combustible Tobacco Pricing’ performance seen through the first nine months of 2020. Image Source: Philip Morris International Inc – Third Quarter of 2020 IR Earnings Presentation By Callum Turcan Tobacco giant Philip Morris International Inc (PM) reported third quarter 2020 earnings on October 20 which saw the company beat both consensus top- and bottom-line estimates. Philip Morris International also raised its full-year guidance for 2020 in part due to industry volumes holding up better than expected in Indonesia, which raised the minimum selling price for cigarettes while also increasing cigarette
News Brief: Stay at Home Stocks, REITs, Housing, Oracle, and AT&T
October 22, 2020
Image: Number of COVID-19 cases reported weekly by WHO Region, and global deaths, 30 December 2019 through 18 October 2020. Source: WHO. The COVID-19 pandemic continues to rage on, though the healthcare community has become more adept at reducing the incidence of death given the many treatments now available to battle the disease. We continue to stay the course with the newsletter portfolios. Many of our favorites include Apple, Microsoft, Facebook, Alphabet, and PayPal, among other moaty, net-cash-rich, free-cash-flow generating powerhouses tied to secular growth trends. Our focus remains on the long haul. The business models of many stay-at-home stocks are solid as they continue to reap the rewards of the accelerated trends of home office use and e-commerce proliferation.
Our Thoughts on Netflix’s Latest Earnings
October 22, 2020
Image Shown: An overview of Netflix Inc’s historical financial and operational performance and a snapshot of its outlook for the fourth quarter of 2020. Image Source: Netflix Inc – Letter to shareholders covering the third quarter of 2020. By Callum Turcan On October 20, the video streaming giant Netflix Inc (NFLX) reported third quarter 2020 earnings after the market close that underwhelmed lofty investor expectations and saw shares of NFLX move lower the next day. We recently updated our cash flow models for the Discretionary Spending industry, and our current fair value estimate for NFLX sits at $488 per share, near where Netflix is trading as of this writing (Netflix’s latest 16-page Stock Report can be viewed here). The recent
Our Thoughts on Intel’s Big Divestiture Ahead of Its Earnings Report
October 21, 2020
Image Source: Intel Corporation – Second Quarter of Fiscal 2020 IR Earnings Presentation By Callum Turcan On October 20, Intel Corporation (INTC) and South Korean-based SK Hynix announced a major transaction that will reshape the global NAND flash memory market. For reference, NAND flash memory is used in smartphones, personal computers, and other digital devices. Intel will receive $9.0 billion in cash that will be paid out in two phases, assuming everything goes as planned. In return, SK Hynix is receiving “Intel NAND memory and storage business, which includes the NAND SSD business, the NAND component and wafer business, and the Dalian NAND memory manufacturing facility in China” though Intel will retain its Intel Optane business, which caters to both
Lockheed Martin Beats Expectations and Raises Guidance Yet Again
October 21, 2020
Image Shown: Lockheed Martin continued to grow its revenues and segment operating profit in the third quarter of fiscal 2020. Image Source: Lockheed Martin Corporation – Third Quarter of Fiscal 2020 IR Earnings Presentation By Callum Turcan On October 20, Lockheed Martin Corporation (LMT) reported third quarter earnings for fiscal 2020 (period ended September 27, 2020) that beat consensus top- and bottom-line estimates. Lockheed Martin’s GAAP sales rose by 9% year-over-year, hitting $16.5 billion, in part due to the company increasing its F-35 aircraft deliveries to 31 in the fiscal third quarter from 28 in the same quarter last fiscal year. Additionally, all four of Lockheed Martin’s core business segments (‘Aeronautics,’ ‘Missiles and Fire Control,’ ‘Rotary and Mission Systems’ and
ConocoPhillips Is Buying Concho Resources
October 20, 2020
Image Shown: An overview of the pro forma asset base of ConocoPhillips and Concho Resources Inc. Please note that Concho Resources’ main operations are in the Permian Basin in West Texas and Southeastern New Mexico, a region that ConocoPhillips seeks to grow its exposure to. ConocoPhillips has an expansive upstream portfolio with operations worldwide, though its North American position is set to become a much larger part of its company-wide profile. Image Source: ConocoPhillips – ConocoPhillips & Concho Resources Transaction Announcement IR Presentation By Callum Turcan On October 19, ConocoPhillips (COP) announced it was acquiring Concho Resources Inc (CXO) through an all-stock deal. If the deal goes through as planned, each share of CXO will be exchanged for 1.46 shares
Global Net Lease’s Yield Is Flashing Signs of Trouble
October 19, 2020
Image Shown: An overview of Global Net Lease’s asset base. Image Source: Global Net Lease – Second Quarter of 2020 IR Earnings Presentation By Callum Turcan Global Net Lease (GNL) is a real estate investment trust (‘REIT’) focused on single tenant net-leased commercial properties in the US, Canada, and Europe. Sale and leaseback transactions are a common way the REIT grows its business. At the end of June 2020, a little less than two thirds of its annualized rental income came from properties in the US and Canada. Global Net Lease generated a little less than half of its annualized rental income from both office properties and industrial/distribution properties, with the remainder coming from retail properties. Shares of GNL yield
