Member Articles

Home Depot Expects Modest Sales Growth in 2025

by

Image: Home Depot’s shares have been choppy the past few years. By Brian Nelson, CFA Home Depot (HD) recently reported mixed first quarter results with revenue coming in higher than expectations, but non-GAAP earnings per share coming up a bit light relative to consensus. Sales during the first quarter advanced 9.4%, but comparable store sales fell 0.3%, despite increasing 0.2% in the U.S. Net earnings fell to $3.43 billion from $3.6 billion in the year-ago period. Adjusted diluted earnings per share for the first quarter was $3.56 compared with $3.67 in last year’s quarter. Management had the following to say about the quarter: Our first quarter results were in line with our expectations as we saw continued customer engagement across … Read more

Dollar General Raises Guidance Despite Tariff Uncertainty

by

Image: Dollar General’s shares have been under pressure the past few years. By Brian Nelson, CFA On June 3, Dollar General (DG) reported better than expected first quarter results, with both revenue and GAAP earnings per share exceeding the consensus forecast. Net sales advanced 5.3%, to $10.4 billion, while same-store sales growth came in at 2.4%, reflecting a 2.7% increase in average transaction and a 0.3% decline in customer traffic. Operating profit increased 5.5%, while diluted earnings per share increased 7.9%, to $1.78. Cash flow from operations increased 27.6%, to $847.2 million. Management had the following to say about the quarter: We are pleased with our start to the year, including strong same-store sales and EPS results. Our efforts to … Read more

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week of May 30

by

Below we provide a list of firms that raised their dividends during the week ending May 30. 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 of Nova Scotia (BNS): now CAD 1.10 per share quarterly dividend, was CAD 1.06. BMO Financial (BMO): now CAD 1.63 per share quarterly dividend, was CAD 1.59. CSB Bancorp (CSBB): now $0.41 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.40. Donaldson (DCI): now $0.30 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.27. EOG Resources (EOG): now $1.02 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.97. EQB (EQB:CA): now $0.53 … Read more

Nvidia Reports Better Than Expected First Quarter Results

by

Image: Nvidia’s shares are flirting with all-time highs. By Brian Nelson, CFA On May 28, Nvidia (NVDA) reported better than expected first-quarter fiscal 2026 results with revenue and non-GAAP earnings per share coming in higher than the consensus forecasts. Revenue increased 69% from the year-ago period thanks to strength in Data Center revenue, which was up 73% from a year ago. Gaming revenue was a record $3.8 billion, up 42% from a year ago. Professional Visualization revenue was up 19% from a year ago, while first quarter Automotive revenue was up 72% from last year. First-quarter non-GAAP gross margin was 71.3%, while first quarter non-GAAP diluted earnings per share was $0.96. Management had the following to say about the results: … Read more

AT&T Is Targeting $16+ Billion in Free Cash Flow in 2025

by

Image: AT&T’s shares have performed well of late. By Brian Nelson, CFA AT&T (T) recently reported mixed first quarter results with revenue exceeding the consensus forecast, but non-GAAP earnings per share coming in slightly short of expectations. Revenue came in at $30.6 billion versus $30.0 billion in the year-ago period, while adjusted diluted earnings per share advanced to $0.51 from $0.48 in the year-ago period. Adjusted operating income was $6.4 billion versus $6.0 billion in the year-ago quarter, while operating cash flow totaled $9.0 billion, up from $7.5 billion a year ago. Free cash flow was $3.1 billion versus $2.8 billion a year ago. Management had the following to say about the quarter: Our business fundamentals remain strong, and we … Read more

IBM Continues to Target $13.5 Billion in Free Cash Flow for 2025

by

Image: IBM’s shares have done quite well the past few years. By Brian Nelson, CFA IBM (IBM) recently reported first quarter results that beat the consensus estimate for both revenue and non-GAAP earnings per share. Revenue increased 2% at constant currency, with software revenue up 9% in constant currency and consulting revenue flat at constant currency. Infrastructure revenue was down 4% at constant currency. IBM’s profitability improved 190 basis points at the non-GAAP gross margin level, while it was up 50 basis points at the non-GAAP pre-tax margin level. In the quarter, IBM hauled in $4.4 billion in operating cash flow and $2 billion in free cash flow. Management had the following to say about the quarter: We exceeded expectations … Read more

ASML Delivers Despite Tariff Uncertainty

by

Image: ASML Holding’s shares have been choppy during the past couple years. By Brian Nelson, CFA ASML Holding NV (ASML) recently reported mixed first quarter results with net sales missing the consensus forecast, but GAAP earnings per share coming in better than expected. First quarter total net sales were €7.7 billion on a gross margin of 54%. Net income came in at €2.4 billion, while total quarterly net bookings were a healthy €3.9 billion. Management had the following to say about the quarterly performance: Our first-quarter total net sales came in at €7.7 billion, in line with our guidance. The gross margin was 54.0%, above guidance, driven by a favorable EUV product mix and the achievement of performance milestones. In … Read more

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week of May 23

by

Below we provide a list of firms that raised their dividends during the week ending May 23. 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                          Alerus Financial (ALRS): now $0.21 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.20. Bay Commercial Bank (BCML): now $0.20 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.15. Cross Timbers Royalty Trust (CRT): now $0.0808 per share monthly dividend, was $0.0321. dLocal (DLO): now $0.0521 per share quarterly dividend. Equitable Holdings (EQH): now $0.27 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.24. Flowers Foods (FLO): now $0.2475 per share quarterly dividend, … Read more

Target Navigating a Highly Challenging Environment

by

Image Source: TradingView By Brian Nelson, CFA On May 21, Target Corporation (TGT) reported weak first quarter results with both revenue and non-GAAP earnings per share coming in lower than expectations. Net sales dropped 2.8% on a comparable sales decline of 3.8%, while adjusted earnings per share of $1.30 compared to adjusted earnings per share of $2.03 in the first quarter of 2024. Management had the following to say about the retail environment: In the first quarter, our team navigated a highly challenging environment and focused on delivering the outstanding assortment, experience and value guests expect from Target. While our sales fell short of our expectations, we saw several bright spots in the quarter, including healthy digital growth, led by … Read more

3 Undervalued Stocks to Consider Buying Now

by

Dear readers:   With the markets retracing most of their recent drawdown, we’re taking a victory lap as we didn’t panic, nor should have you. We highlighted our wait-and-see approach amidst the worst of the pullback, and we expect the Magnificent 7 (large cap growth and big cap tech) to continue to propel the markets higher, as they have done.   We’ve been busy rolling valuation models as we finetune our assumptions for a great number of companies under coverage. While doing so, we came across three undervalued stocks that are also included in the simulated newsletter portfolios. We think they’re prime for highlight.   The three stocks are UnitedHealth Group (UNH), Nvidia (NVDA) and Alphabet (GOOG). We spend a lot of time on discounted cash-flow valuation, … Read more