Member Articles

Modest European Improvement Could Propel Ford Higher

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American automaker Ford (click ticker for report: ) reported fantastic first quarter results Wednesday morning. Revenue jumped 10% year-over-year to $35.8 billion, which was significantly better than consensus estimates. Earnings were modestly higher, growing 5% year-over-year to $0.41 per share, which was also much better than consensus expectations. The firm also generated $700 million in automotive operating cash flow, making it the twelfth consecutive quarter of positive cash flow performance—a drastic departure from where the company was five years ago. Image source: Q1 2013 Ford Investor Presentation The standout performer during the first quarter was once again North America. Automotive operating profit jumped 14% year-over-year to $2.4 billion driven by a 20% increase in revenue to $22.3 billion. Operating margins … Read more

Apple: Capital Allocation Can’t Shake Bearish Sentiment

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Best Ideas Newsletter holding Apple (click ticker for report: ) posted solid results Tuesday afternoon.  Apple exceeded consensus earnings expectations earning $10.09 per share versus an expectation of $10.07. Revenue grew 11% year-over-year to $43.6 billion, exceeding consensus estimates by over $1 billion. Free cash flow totaled $31.6 billion during the first 6 months of the fiscal year, an increase of 10% compared to the same period a year ago. Importantly, the company also announced expanded intentions to repurchase shares and boosted its dividend 15%. The firm’s buyback was raised to $60 billion (from $10 billion), and it will also use $1 billion annually to offset restricted stock grant dilution. Apple sneakily increased its share count 5% over the past … Read more

Valuentum Invited to Present at the World MoneyShow in Las Vegas! Register Free!

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Las Vegas | May 13 – 16, 2013 • Caesars Palace The Valuentum Team has been invited by the MoneyShow to present its take on the ‘12 Most Important Steps to Understand the Stock Market‘ on Tuesday May 14, 2013, from 5:45pm-6:45pm at Caesers Palace. 12 Steps to Understand the Stock MarketTuesday, May 14, 2013 | 5:45 pm – 6:45 pm Join Director of Research Development RJ Towner and President of Equity Research Brian Nelson to learn more about how Valuentum has redefined the investment process and why combining a variety of investment perspectives is the key to successful stock selection. REGISTER FREE! We look forward to seeing you in Las Vegas!  Call 800/970-4355. Mention priority code 031145www.LasVegasMoneyShow.com About the MoneyShow The MoneyShow team produces … Read more

Caterpillar’s 2013 Doesn’t Look Great

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Global equipment manufacturer Caterpillar (click ticker for report: ) posted weak first-quarter results on the back of a decline in global mining capital expenditures. Revenue dropped 17% year-over-year to $13.2 billion, which was slightly below consensus expectations. Earnings tumbled 45% year-over-year to $1.31 per share, which was also worse than consensus estimates. The decline during the first quarter wasn’t much of a surprise as the outlook for mining capital expenditures fell precipitously as commodity prices tumbled. In fact, Cat’s revised outlook implies a 50% year-over-year decline in sales of the firm’s traditional mining equipment and a 15% decline in sales of the equipment sold by recently-acquired Bucyrus. Sales fell 23% in the resource segment for the quarter, and with most of the global mining … Read more

Strong Headline Results From Apple

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Best Ideas Newsletter holding Apple (click ticker for report: ) posted solid results Tuesday afternoon.  Apple exceeded consensus earnings expectations earning $10.09 per share versus an expectation of $10.07. Revenue grew 11% year-over-year to $43.6 billion, exceeding consensus estimates by over $1 billion. Free cash flow totaled $31.6 billion during the first 6 months of the fiscal year, an increase of 10% compared to the same period a year ago. Importantly, the company also announced expanded intentions to repurchase shares and boosted its dividend 15%. The firm’s buyback was raised to $60 billion (from $10 billion), and it will also use $1 billion annually to offset restricted stock grant dilution. We’ll provide full analysis after the conference call.

Netflix’s Subscriber Growth Remains Fantastic

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Content distributor Netflix (click ticker for report: ) kicked off 2013 with strong growth in revenue, subscribers, and earnings per share. Revenue jumped 18% year-over-year to $1 billion, roughly in-line with consensus estimates. On the other hand, earnings per share generously exceeded estimates, moving from break-even to $0.31 per share. Further, the company added 3.05 million new streaming subscribers while losing only 3% of domestic DVD subscribers. Both domestic streaming and international streaming posted strong improvements in profitability and revenue. Domestic streaming revenue increased 26% year-over-year, with lower content costs driving a 630 basis point increase in operating margins to 20.6%. This resulted in an 82% increase in operating profit. In his candid letter to investors, CEO Reed Hastings cited strong … Read more

GE Posts Another Record Backlog, But Organic Growth Falters

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Industrial conglomerate General Electric (click ticker for report: ) reported solid first-quarter results marked by a record backlog of $216 billion. Revenue was flat year-over-year at $35 billion, which modestly exceeded consensus expectations. Earnings, excluding the positive impact of the sale of NBCUniversal, grew 17% year-over-year to $0.35 per share, slightly better than consensus estimates. In spite of decent backlog growth, weakness in its Power and Water division and lackluster results in Oil & Gas weighed on performance. The Power and Water segment was particularly challenged, as revenue dropped 26% year-over-year to $4.8 billion driven by a 42% decline in equipment revenue. The firm focused on cost-cutting efforts in order to preserve margins, but segment profitability still fell 39% to … Read more

McDonald’s Struggles In The First Quarter

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Fast-food goliath McDonald’s (click ticker for report: ) posted first-quarter results that revealed a great deal of weakness in its core business. Revenue rose 1% year-over-year to $6.6 billion, a tad higher than consensus expectations. Earnings per share were roughly in-line with consensus estimates, rising only 2% year-over-year to $1.26 per share. More worrisome, McDonald’s same-store sales declined 1% year-over-year driven by a 1.2% decrease in same-store sales in the United States. Operating income in the region declined 3%. The firm released a few new items like Fish McBites and premium wraps, but new products were unable to push the needle in terms of sales. McDonald’s emphasized its continued focus on value and the dollar menu, which, in our view, … Read more

Firms Raising Their Dividends In The Week Ending April 19

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Quite a few firms raised their dividends during the week ending April 19. Firms Raising Their Dividends This Week: Allison Transmission Holdings (ALSN): now $0.12 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.06. A.O. Smith (AOS): now $0.24 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.20. Cardinal Financial (CFNL): now $0.06 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.05. CSX (CSX): now $0.15 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.14. Discover Financial Services (DFS): now $0.20 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.14. Donegal Group (DGICA): now $0.1275 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.1225. El Paso Pipeline Partners (EPB): now $0.62 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.61. First Republic Bank (FRC): now $0.12 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.10. Kinder Morgan (KMI): now $0.38 per share quarterly dividend, … Read more