Valuentum Exclusive Analysis for the Discerning Investor

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Oct 9, 2019

Oracle Makes a Big Push Into the Cloud
Image Source: Oracle Corporation – September 2019 IR Presentation. On Monday October 7, Reuters reported that Oracle Corporation planned to hire an additional ~2,000 workers to support the tech giant’s cloud expansion strategy. These new jobs would be centered around San Francisco, Seattle, and India. We continue to like Oracle as a holding in our Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio and are excited to see how its push into new international cloud computing markets will pan out. Our fair value estimate stands at $55 per share, roughly where ORCL is trading at as of this writing, with the top end of our fair value estimate range sitting at $66 per share (Oracle could test the upper bounds of our range should its cloud computing growth story pick up steam).

Sep 23, 2019

Empirical Support for Porter’s “Gospel,” Plus Comments on the “Head Fake” Rotation
“Let’s be very clear: There is strong empirical quantitative evidence that the price-to-fair value equation (“factor”) is predictive of returns, which is what matters for value investors, and in Morningstar’s case, the moat assessment is just part of that overarching conclusion (fair value estimate). Researchers continue to attack the moat “factor” on grounds that don’t make any sense, in my view, and are cherry-picking parameters to assess value investing.” – Brian Nelson, CFA

Sep 19, 2019

FedEx Bemoans Trade Wars and Issues Weak Guidance, Shares Get Crushed
Image Source: FedEx Corp -- IR Presentation. Global logistics and shipping giant FedEx Corp reported first-quarter earnings for its fiscal 2020 (ended August 31) on September 17 that underwhelmed, sending shares sharply lower (down almost 13%) on September 18. As a capital intensive business operating in a cyclical industry, FedEx is stuck in a bind. Either pursue its drive for greater efficiency, greater scale, and (in theory) greater profits in the future while acknowledging that significant headwinds in the short- to medium-term will pressure free cash flows at a time of significant capital investment, or attempt to scale back which hollows out the core of management’s capital allocation strategy. Please note FedEx’s future aircraft purchase commitments make cutting capital expenditures by a meaningful amount a significantly harder task, reducing its financial flexibility. Management has opted to push forward into the fray. We are remaining firmly away from FedEx at this time.

Sep 13, 2019

Kroger Posts Solid Quarter, Issues Weak Guidance
Image Shown: Kroger Company – IR Presentation. Kroger’s same-store sales growth was a welcome sight as it relates to the current strength of the US consumer, but we are staying away from the retailer for a reason. Its large net debt load puts the company’s payout at risk during adverse economic conditions, and we think management should be battering down the hatches considering how late we are in the business cycle. Management ending Kroger’s incremental operating profit forecast is a troubling sign.

Sep 11, 2019

Apple Makes Its Big Push Into Services
Apple announced that Apple TV+ would launch November 1, 2019, during its big update event on September 10. This marks the beginning of Apple’s transition from a hardware and software company to a hardware, software, and services giant.

Sep 4, 2019

A Tale of Two Package Delivery Companies
Shares of both FedEx Corporation (indicated by the orange line above) and United Parcel Service Inc (indicated by the blue line above) have come under a tremendous amount of pressure over the past year as the industry navigates the fallout from the US-China trade war. Both companies are investing heavily to improve their offerings to stay ahead of the game as large tech companies increasingly encroach on the shipping industry’s traditional turf. The S&P 500 index is indicted by the purple line above.

Aug 26, 2019

The Valuentum Team Talks Powell Speech and Threat of Global Recession
Last week, China issued retaliatory tariffs on US goods, and Trump responded in kind, escalating trade tensions. Caught in the middle of this US-China trade war is the Fed, however. Let’s sit down with the Valuentum team and kick things off with our thoughts on Fed Chairman Powell’s speech, Challenges for Monetary Policy issued August 23 in Jackson Hole, WY.

Aug 21, 2019

Target Stuns, Shares Jump Higher
Image Shown: Shares of Target Corporation (TGT) leapt higher on August 21 on the back of its strong performance during the second quarter of FY2019. In particular, the retailer’s comparable same store sales growth was quite impressive given the hard comparison period, with e-commerce and same-day fulfillment leading the way.Strong performance out of Target and other major US retailers like Walmart indicate that while headwinds are forming, the US economy remains strong for now. We've raised our fair value estimate of Target.

Aug 19, 2019

No Recession At Walmart; Estee Lauder Not Cheap
Image Source: Mike Mozart. Walmart’s results were quite reassuring regarding the health of the economy. There are also pockets of significant strength, with prestige beauty being catapulted by a “selfie generation.”

Aug 11, 2019

In the News: Amazon, GE, Kraft-Heinz, Disney, CVS Health, Gilead
We're reiterating the large range of fair value outcomes for Amazon. We're staying far away from General Electric and Kraft-Heinz. Netflix may have its back against the ropes with Disney Plus. CVS Health and Gilead were two setbacks in the newsletter portfolios in the past, but we kept losses to a minimum and new ideas more than offset the weakness. The Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio continues to do very well.