Valuentum Exclusive Analysis for the Discerning Investor

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Mar 24, 2023

How the Payment of a Dividend Impacts Intrinsic Value Estimation
"Dividends are a transfer of cash to the shareholders that the shareholders already owned."In this purely educational article, using historical data from 3M, let’s walk through the mechanics of how the payment of a dividend impacts the intrinsic value of a company. The takeaways may be somewhat counterintuitive but are nonetheless very important for members to understand.

Mar 23, 2023

The Dividend Cushion Ratio: Unadjusted Is Less Subjective, Adjusted Is More Subjective
Image Source: Mike Lawrence. Question: I'm a subscriber. I'm looking at your Dividend Report for Enterprise Product Partners. It says your Valuentum Adjusted Dividend Cushion ratio for EPD is 1.8 (a ratio that includes future expected proceeds from capital raising endeavors in the coming years), but several lines below it says the Unadjusted Dividend Cushion ratio, which is your regular normal ratio (a ratio that does not include future expected proceeds from capital raising endeavors in the coming years), is 0.22. Please explain the difference between the two ratios, and what is considered a good ratio for the Unadjusted Dividend Cushion ratio, what is an excellent score, what is neutral and what is poor? Also, how much relative importance should I give to each ratio? Also, further down in the section on Unadjusted Dividend Cushion, the chart of EPD has a large negative number in the blue bar, and your text says: "Generally speaking, the greater the 'blue bar' to the right is in the positive, the more durable a company's dividend, and the greater the 'blue bar' to the right is in the negative, the less durable a company's dividend." So that means that EPD's dividend isn't durable, yet your report earlier says that EPD's Dividend Safety rating is GOOD. Can you elaborate?

Jan 26, 2023

Market-Cap Weighted S&P 500 Breaks Out; Have We Already Seen the Bottom?
Image: The market-cap weighted S&P 500 (SPY) has broken through its downtrend. The markets could be headed meaningfully higher. Image Source: TradingView. The market-cap weighted S&P 500 has broken out of the technical downtrend that defined 2022 following the equal-weight breakout that preceded it. The pace of inflation looks like it peaked in June 2022, and while myriad risks to both the economy and stock market remain, fourth-quarter 2022 earnings season is shaping up better than feared. We maintain our view that the markets remain at critical technical levels, and we continue to monitor earnings season and technical developments closely.

Jan 3, 2023

Our Reports on Stocks in the Technology Giants Industry
Our reports on stocks in the Technology Giants industry can be found in this article. Reports include META, AAPL, GOOG, AMZN, MSFT, CSCO, V, MA, PYPL, INTC, ORCL, QCOM, ADI, IBM, ADBE, NVDA, CRM, AMD, AVGO, BABA, BKNG, BIDU, TSM, TXN, EBAY, ADP, MU, KFY, MAN, KLAC, LRCX, AMAT.

Dec 27, 2022

Exclusive Call: What To Expect From Valuentum in 2023
Video: 2022 was a successful year by almost every measure from the simulated Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio and simulated Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio to the simulated High Yield Dividend Newsletter portfolio and Exclusive publication and beyond. There were some disappointments in 2022, of course, but the year showed the value of a Valuentum membership. Join President of Investment Research Brian Nelson on this year's Exclusive conference call to learn what to expect from Valuentum in 2023. Cheers!

Dec 13, 2022

Oracle Puts Up Huge Revenue Growth Number in Second Quarter Fiscal 2023 Results
Image: Trailing four-quarter free cash flow trends at Oracle are strong but lumpy. Image Source: Oracle. On December 12, Oracle Corporation reported better than expected second quarter fiscal 2023 results for the three months ended November 30. Total revenue advanced 18% in the quarter on a year-over-year basis, leaping 25% in constant currency, thanks in part to strong performance at its infrastructure and application cloud businesses. Non-GAAP operating income increased 5%--and 12% in constant currency--and its non-GAAP operating margin was 41% in the period. Fiscal second-quarter non-GAAP earnings per share of $1.21 beat the consensus estimate, despite foreign currency headwinds. We liked that we saw in the quarterly results, and we’ll be sticking with the company as one of our best ideas.

Nov 30, 2022

Great Year for (Our) High Yield Dividend Ideas! Inquire about the High Yield Dividend Newsletter!
Image: The year-to-date simulated estimated performance of the High Yield Dividend Newsletter portfolio, which continues to hold up well during 2022, while offering an attractive forward estimated dividend yield. Simulated estimated performance is calculated by Valuentum and has not been externally audited. Inquire about the High Yield Dividend Newsletter. The next edition will be released December 1, 2022. Based on our estimates, the simulated High Yield Dividend Newsletter portfolio is down ~4.4% on a price-only basis so far in 2022 on an interim basis, using data from the trading session November 29 (retrieved from Seeking Alpha). By comparison, according to data from Morningstar, the Vanguard 60/40 stock/bond portfolio (VBIAX) is down more than 15% so far this year (on a price-only basis), the Vanguard Real Estate ETF (VNQ) is down 26% year-to-date (on a price-only basis), while the iShares Mortgage Real Estate Capped ETF (REM) is down ~30% on a year-to-date basis. Each simulated newsletter portfolio at Valuentum targets a different strategy, whether long-term capital appreciation, dividend growth, income/high yield, and the like. Generally, for the simulated Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio, it targets long-term capital appreciation potential (not in one year or a couple years, but in the long run). During the past five years...an ETF that tracks the area of large cap growth is up more than 70%, while an ETF that tracks the area of dividend growth has advanced ~40%, an ETF that tracks small cap value is up ~17% during the past five years, while an ETF that tracks the area of the highest-yielding S&P 500 companies is up just 12% -- according to data from Morningstar. REITs, as measured by the VNQ, are up just 3% over the past five years. We nailed the call on the drawdown in the 60/40 stock/bond portfolio this year, and readers should continue to question the merits of modern portfolio theory, not merely state that now the 60/40 stock/bond is cheap (after the huge decline)! It's extremely important to continue to test whether something makes sense or not. If interest rates continue to rise, we think bond prices will continue to face pressure. Sometimes, a few of our best ideas don't work out (as in any year), but that's why we use the simulated (and diversified) Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio to measure the success of the VBI. We're not a quant shop. We believe in the qualitative overlay. For example, there are highly-rated ideas that don't make the cut for the simulated Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio and there are low-rated ideas that find their way into the newsletter portfolio because they add a diversification benefit. Given the massive up years in the broader markets in 2019, 2020 and 2021, with the simulated Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio estimated to be down in the low-double-digits so far this year (approximately ~10%-12%, by our latest tally) -- and this estimate includes the missteps in Meta Platforms (META), PayPal (PYPL), and Disney (DIS) -- this is actually pretty awesome, in our view -- especially considering all that went wrong in other areas such as crypto, REITs, mortgage REITs, disruptive innovation stocks, Chinese equities, and the list goes on and on. A low double-digit estimated percentage decline, as that "experienced" in the simulated Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio so far in 2022 after huge up years, can be viewed as just part of a long-term journey that targets capital appreciation. For context, Berkshire Hathaway's stock price was nearly halved in 1974. It's okay to time the markets a bit as we did last August, but staying engaged with investing over the long haul is a key part of the recipe for success, as it was for Berkshire investors. For readers seeking income and high yield dividend ideas, please consider subscribing to our High Yield Dividend Newsletter. 2022 hasn't been an up year for a lot of investors, but it shouldn't have been a disaster either, and we've done a really great job avoiding the worst areas. We're interested in hearing how you are using our service, so that we can continue to get better. All told, we're excited about 2023, and we hope you are too!

Nov 28, 2022

2022 Showcased the Value of a Valuentum Membership
In bull markets, almost everyone is a winner. But 2022 was different. This year was a big test for Valuentum, and we passed with flying colors. We delivered across the board during the year from ideas in the Exclusive publication and the efficacy of the dividend growth methodology to the resilience of high yield ideas and simulated Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio relative performance--despite setbacks from Meta Platforms, PayPal, and beyond. Tune in to the latest video installment from Valuentum. Thanks for listening!

Nov 17, 2022

Cisco Raises Fiscal 2023 Guidance But Orders Face Difficult Comps
Image: Cisco’s annualized recurring revenue (ARR) continues to advance nicely. Image Source: Cisco. Cisco’s first-quarter results for fiscal 2023, released November 16, were solid, and the firm’s pace of annualized recurring revenue continues to advance nicely, giving it nice visibility into future performance. The networking giant raised its guidance for fiscal 2023 for both the top- and bottom-lines, though we note that product orders did fall meaningfully in the quarter on a year-over-year basis (but this was largely due to a tough comparison from last year's period). Its free cash flow generation was solid in the quarter, and we continue to like the company’s net cash position. Cisco continues to buy back its own undervalued stock and yields an attractive ~3.4% at this time.

Nov 10, 2022

Market Whipsaw: Crypto Collapse and a Lower-than-Expected Inflation Print
Image: Uncertainty in the cryptocurrency markets has surged with concerns over the liquidity of a key exchange. Investors are weighing the spillover effects of crypto with the view that the pace of inflation may have peaked. The U.S. equity market continues to be highly volatile as it whipsaws between concerns over the health and sustainability of cryptocurrency and optimism over lower-than-feared inflation readings. We maintain our bearish/defensive stance on equities, but at the same time, we continue to be “fully-invested” across the simulated newsletter portfolios in part because we don’t want to miss out on days like today, November 10, when the markets are soaring ~2.5%-5.5% depending on which index you are monitoring. We’re also not ruling out a Santa Claus rally through the end of the year. Merry Dow Jones, as they say!