Wayfair’s Sales Rise as US Households Stay In
April 6, 2020
Image Shown: Shares of Wayfair Inc shot up on April 6 after publishing a very favorable business update. By Callum Turcan E-commerce firm Wayfair Inc (W) sells furniture and home décor online and operates several websites including Wayfair, Joss & Main, AllModern, Birch Lane, and Perigold. Shares of W surged upwards on April 6 after the e-commerce company put out a very promising business update that stated Wayfair’s sales were skyrocketing upwards. Here’s a key excerpt (emphasis added): For its first quarter of 2020, Wayfair expects to meet or exceed its previously issued guidance of 15% to 17% consolidated net revenue growth year-over-year and consolidated Non-GAAP Adjusted EBITDA Margin in a negative 7.3% to 7.8% range. Wayfair continues to see
Tesla’s Well-Timed Equity Raise Provides a Much Needed Buffer During the Current Crisis
April 6, 2020
Image Shown: Shares of Tesla Inc are still up materially over the past year after coming in considerably since skyrocketing in late-2019 through early-2020, before the pandemic slowed the global economy to a crawl. By Callum Turcan Tesla Inc (TSLA) isn’t immune to the ongoing coronavirus (‘COVID-19’) pandemic, far from it, but a well-timed capital raise combined with strong operational performance in the first quarter of 2020 (before the pandemic hit) has renewed investor confidence in the electric vehicle maker and battery producer. Operational Update Before Tesla was forced to halt production at its Fremont factory in California by the end of the day on March 23, to comply with California’s stay-at-home order (which only allows “essential” businesses to remain
US Beer Sales Reportedly Surge During the Pandemic, Dollar General Well-Positioned to Meet Rising Demand
April 3, 2020
Image Source: Valuentum By Callum Turcan According to some reports, US beer and alcohol sales are surging during the ongoing coronavirus (‘COVID-19’) pandemic. As of early Wednesday April 1, Johns Hopkins University reported there are now over 850,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 around the world and that includes over 42,000 fatalities. We are still months away from human trials commencing on a potential vaccine, and it likely won’t be until 2021 at the very earliest that a vaccine could enter commercial production. As we wait out this pandemic, we hope everyone and their loved ones stay safe. Booze Sales Surge The global market research firm Nielsen reported that US alcohol sales jumped 55% year-over-year in the week that ended March
Repub from July 2019 — The Valuentum Economic Roundtable
April 3, 2020
This article was published July 23, 2019. We sat down with the Valuentum team to get their thoughts on the global economy and key issues that may threaten this near 10-year bull market. Let’s start with Valuentum’s Bank and Financials Contributor Matthew Warren, and then we’ll go around the horn. Matthew Warren: It’s interesting what’s happening at the nexus of the consumer and various retailers. It reminds me of the pockets of discretionary weakness back in 2008. I made money on Men’s Warehouse (TLRD) puts back then. Nobody is really in a rush to buy a suit, especially if they are concerned about their job prospects. At least we only have CLOs (collateralized loan obligations) and Europe/China stress to ponder
Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week Ending April 3
April 3, 2020
Below we provide a list of firms that raised their dividends during the week ending April 3. The dividend reports of covered firms on this list will be updated shortly with the new information. To access our dividend reports use the ‘Symbol’ search box in our website header. Firms Raising Their Dividends This Week Bank OZK (OZK): now $0.27 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.26. H.B. Fuller (FUL): now $0.1625 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.16. InterContinental Hotels Group PLC (IHG): now $0.839 per share semi-annual dividend, was $0.399. MV Oil Trust (MVO): now $0.205 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.190. New Residential Investment 6.375 CUM PFD C (NRZ.PC): now $0.4029 per share quarterly dividend. Sabine Royalty Trust (SBR): now
Bullets: Recapping the Crash, Where Are We Now?
March 30, 2020
Image: The S&P 500 has only retraced a small part of its decline since the top in February 2020. By Brian Nelson, CFA In August 2019, Valuentum took a cautious bent on the markets, removing the Financial Select Sector SPDR (XLF) and the Energy Select Sector SPDR (XLE), raising cash at the time. Financials and energy have been material underperformers during the swoon, with the Fed/Treasury launching more stimulus than the Great Financial Crisis and Saudi Arabia/Russia continuing their oil-price war. Here’s what we said in August 2019: August 2019: There are myriad risks as we near the end of this now-decade long bull market: a US-China trade/currency war, slowing global economic growth (Germany’s economic growth turned negative during the
Attack COVID-19 With Forward-Looking, Expected Data
March 28, 2020
President of Investment Research at Valuentum Brian Nelson shares his financial wisdom in detailing how the world must attack COVID-19 with forward-looking expected data (not backward-looking, empirical data) as the global economy faces what could become the worst business environment since the Great Depression, irrespective of government fiscal stimulus. — Editor’s note: Brian emphasizes the importance of “expert analysis” over “backward-looking analysis,” and we would like to clarify that he is not giving personalized advice. Valuentum members have access to our 16-page stock reports, Valuentum Buying Index ratings, Dividend Cushion ratios, fair value estimates and ranges, dividend reports and more. Not a member? Subscribe today. The first 14 days are free. Brian Nelson owns shares in SPY and SCHG. Some
Republic Services is Well Prepared
March 27, 2020
Image Source: Republic Services Inc – March 2020 COVID-19 Investor Update Presentation By Callum Turcan Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio holding Republic Services Inc (RSG), which was added to the portfolio back on January 13, 2020 (link here), is well positioned to ride out the turbulence created by the ongoing novel coronavirus (‘COVID-19’) pandemic. Before getting into its recent refinancing activity, please note that roughly four-fifths of Republic Services’ revenues comes from long-term contracts, and that fundamentally, waste disposal services are almost always in demand (hard to combat a healthcare crisis if trash is piling up on the streets, sidewalks, and can’t be properly disposed of in landfills). While its financials will face some pressures from the pandemic, Republic Services should
Lululemon’s Pristine Balance Sheet and Digital Sales Channels Provides Support During These Harrowing Times
March 27, 2020
Image Source: Lululemon Athletica Inc – Fourth Quarter of Fiscal 2019 Earnings Infographic By Callum Turcan On March 26, Lululemon Athletica Inc (LULU) reported fourth quarter and full-year earnings for fiscal 2019 (period ended February 2, 2020) that had some bright spots, though shares of LULU initially traded down on March 27. While the company beat on both the top- and bottom-lines, investors are growing increasingly worried about the performance of discretionary consumer goods companies in the face of the ongoing novel coronavirus (‘COVID-19’) pandemic. In fiscal 2019, Lululemon’s GAAP revenues rose 21% year-over-year and its GAAP gross margin climbed by ~65 basis points, with its financial performance supported by rising direct-to-consumer sales (up 35% year-over-year) which tend to command
Grocery Outlet Is Firing on All Cylinders
March 27, 2020
Image Shown: Discount grocer Grocery Outlet Holdings Corporation has stores in six states; Washington, Oregon, California, Idaho, Nevada, and Pennsylvania. Image Source: Grocery Outlet – December 2019 IR Presentation By Callum Turcan On March 24, discount grocer Grocery Outlet Holdings Corporation (GO) reported fourth-quarter and full fiscal-year earnings for fiscal 2019 (period ended December 28, 2019) and the firm beat both consensus top- and bottom-line estimates (albeit only marginally on the top-line). In the fiscal fourth quarter, the grocer’s GAAP net sales were up 12% year-over-year while Grocery Outlet went from a GAAP net loss of $5 million in the same quarter last fiscal year to a GAAP net profit of $10 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2019.
