Pinterest Sees Interest in its Social Media Site Grow During COVID-19 Pandemic

Image Source: Pinterest Inc – Fourth Quarter of 2019 Earnings IR Presentation By Callum Turcan Social media firm Pinterest Inc (PINS) published an operational and financial update after the market close April 7 that caught a lot of investor’s eyes. Pinterest reported that its user base, measured by monthly active users (‘MAUs’), had continued to grow sequentially in the first quarter of 2020 on both a domestic and international basis. While the ongoing coronavirus (‘COVID-19’) pandemic has likely negatively impacted its digital advertising business, Pinterest is communicating to investors that over the longer term, its social media offering is growing in popularity which supports growth down the road. Financial and Operational Update During the final three months of 2019, Pinterest … Read more

ICYMI — Video: The Question Is If the Economy Can Be Held Together Without Vast Equity Dilution

President of Investment Research at Valuentum and award-winning author of Value Trap: Theory of Universal Valuation Brian Nelson explains how the range of probable fair value outcomes of S&P 500 companies has increased as a result of COVID-19 and possible equity dilution on the downside to long-run inflationary pressures on stocks driven by runaway Fed and Treasury stimulus on the upside. — 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 … Read more

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week Ending April 10

Below we provide a list of firms that raised their dividends during the week ending April 10. 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 Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. (BBVA): now $0.173 semi-annual dividend, was $0.1101. EKIMAS Corporation (ASNB): now $0.18 per share special dividend. GFL Environmental (GFL): now $0.01 per share quarterly dividend. Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores S.A. (AVAL): now $0.025 per share monthly dividend, was $0.0246. SBM Offshore N.V. (SBFFF): now $0.7600 per share annual dividend, was $0.3735. Telefonica Brasil S.A. (VIV): now $0.269 per share, was … Read more

Digital Realty’s Growth Outlook Improving, Shares Near All-Time Highs

Image Source: Digital Realty Trust Inc – March 2020 IR Presentation By Callum Turcan Digital Realty Trust Inc (DLR) is a holding in both the Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio and High Yield Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio (order here), and its shares have performed quite well of late with DLR trading near all-time highs as of this writing. Year-to-date, DLR is up ~26% while the S&P 500 (SPY) is down ~13% as of this writing. Demand for data centers is surging as the ongoing coronavirus (‘COVID-19’) pandemic is forcing households to stay indoors, which in turn is increasing demand for video streaming services, telecommunications offerings, and other activities that are voracious consumers of data. During these harrowing times, we hope members … Read more

US Fiscal Stimulus and Emergency Spending Update

Image Source: Pictures of Money By Callum Turcan On Thursday, April 9, the US Senate is set to hold a vote on whether to add additional funding towards helping small- and medium-sized businesses (‘SMBs’) on top of the $350 billion allocated towards a loan/grant program that was included in the recently passed $2+ trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (‘CARES Act’). Members who want to read our commentary on the CARES Act are encouraged to check out this article here, and for additional commentary, check out our ‘Recapping the Crash’ note here and one of our latest videos here. We sincerely hope everyone and their loved ones stay safe during the ongoing coronavirus (‘COVID-19’) pandemic. Pivoting back to … Read more

ASML Holding Is an Impressive Enterprise with a Pristine Balance Sheet and Rock-Solid Growth Trajectory

Image Source: ASML Holding NV – 2019 Annual Report By Callum Turcan Netherlands-based ASML Holding NV (ASML) supplies lithography systems and services to the makers of semiconductors and semiconductor components, primarily to firms with operations in East Asian and US markets. The firm’s stock price has rebounded sharply since the middle of March 2020, and as of this writing, shares of ASML yield ~1.1% (due to the firm paying out its dividend in euro, there are foreign currency effects to be aware of). We like ASML’s focus on innovation, its pristine balance sheet, rock-solid growth trajectory, and quality cash flow profile. Given the complexities of this company and the space it caters to, we will provide an overview of its … Read more

24 in a Row! Order the Exclusive Today!

Image Source: An excerpt from the March 2020 edition of the Exclusive publication. Valuentum offers commentary across the capital stack in the Exclusive publication. In the Exclusive publication, Valuentum highlights three new ideas each month to consider, one for income, one for capital appreciation, and a “short” idea consideration (all three outside our existing coverage universe). Fresh, underfollowed and new ideas — outside our coverage universe — every month! Nothing is held back.  Big Winners Backed by In-Depth Theses Since the monthly Exclusive was first published in July 2016, Valuentum’s mission with the publication has been to produce an unmatched newsletter that delivers ideas with high success rates and ones backed by in-depth theses across the three key themes: income, … Read more

Wayfair’s Sales Rise as US Households Stay In

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 … Read more

Tesla’s Well-Timed Equity Raise Provides a Much Needed Buffer During the Current Crisis

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 … Read more

US Beer Sales Reportedly Surge During the Pandemic, Dollar General Well-Positioned to Meet Rising Demand

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 … Read more