Valuentum Exclusive Analysis for the Discerning Investor

Symbol Keyword

Aug 15, 2024

Walmart Raises Its Fiscal 2025 Outlook
Image Source: Walmart. Walmart’s adjusted earnings per share for fiscal 2025 is now targeted in the range of $2.35-$2.43 (was $2.23-$2.37). The company ended the quarter with total debt of $47 billion and cash and cash equivalents of $8.8 billion. Walmart hauled in $5.9 billion in free cash flow during the first six months of the year, well in excess of the $3.3 billion it paid in dividends over the same time period. We liked Walmart’s second quarter report, its raised outlook for fiscal 2025, and the company’s very healthy dividend. Shares yield 1.2% at the time of this writing.

Aug 4, 2024

What to Do During This Market Selloff
In short, nothing.

Feb 27, 2024

Berkshire Hathaway Caps Off Strong Year of Operating Earnings Growth
Image: Berkshire’s operating earnings experienced a strong advance during 2023 from last year’s levels. On February 24, Berkshire Hathaway reported strong fourth-quarter results that capped off a year where operating earnings advanced 21% on a year-over-year basis. Warren Buffett tipped his hat to his long-time partner Charlie Munger, who passed away in November of last year, crediting him as the architect of Berkshire and himself merely in charge of the “construction crew.” There weren’t many surprises in the annual report, and Buffett made several references to areas that he has long talked about in the past, including pointing investors to operating earnings, as opposed to net income, which includes unrealized capital gains that can make reported results seem more volatile. All things considered, we liked Berkshire’s update, and we continue to like the firm as an idea in the Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio.

Feb 25, 2024

We Remain Bullish; Is This 1995 – The Beginning of a Huge Stock Market Run?
Image: Large cap growth stocks have trounced the performance of the S&P 500, REITs, and bonds since the beginning of 2023. We expect continued outperformance in this area of the market. We’re now roughly four years past the depths of the COVID-19 meltdown, where equities collapsed in February and March of 2020. As the markets began to recover through 2020, our long-term conviction in equities only grew stronger. We think the biggest risk for long-term investors remains staying out of the market on the basis of what could be considered stretched valuation multiples. As we outlined heavily in the book Value Trap, valuation multiples hardly tell the complete story about a company and often omit key long-term earnings growth, cash flow dynamics, and balance sheet health considerations. We remain bullish on equities for the long haul, and we think the next couple years will be incredibly strong. Our best ideas can be found in the Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio, Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio, High Yield Dividend Newsletter portfolio, ESG Newsletter portfolio, and via the Exclusive publication as well as options idea generation.

Jan 6, 2024

In the News: Apple, Nvidia, ANSYS
The first week of trading in the new year wasn't very welcome, but we think it is far too early to draw any conclusions about how the rest of the year will be. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500, and NASDAQ faced selling pressure in the first week due in part to investors waiting until the new year to book the huge gains garnered during 2023. The market continues to digest critical employment data, as it watches movements in the 10-year Treasury closely, a key benchmark rate for asset pricing that now stands just north of 4%. Many bulls are saying 2024 may be a difficult year after the worst start in the S&P 500 for a new year since 2008, but we remain bullish on our positioning in the newsletter portfolios.

Nov 27, 2023

How Do We Use the Valuentum Buying Index?
Image: We highlighted Exxon Mobil to start 2022, and the stock was one of the best performers in the S&P 500 last year. Exxon Mobil became a “Valuentum” stock last year, with shares being undervalued, exhibiting a strong technical breakout, and sporting an attractive dividend yield to boot. The stock became a huge winner. Note: Exxon is no longer included in the simulated newsletter portfolios. The image is an excerpt from an email sent to members January 5, 2022.We answer one of the most frequently asked questions about the Valuentum Buying Index.

Nov 27, 2023

Can Things Really Stay This Good?
"Large cap growth is booming. Small cap value is trailing. Dividend payers are stagnating. The markets are making a lot of sense again. But I do have my worries. When things are going this well, some market choppiness is probably in the cards. The S&P 500 is now bumping up against the high end of its downtrend, so the remainder of this year will likely see some increased volatility. On the back of Nvidia’s momentum and the great promise of artificial intelligence, however, I wonder if the first half of 2024 will be awesome followed by a very difficult back half of 2024 as some of my concerns finally catch up to the markets. But that just might be at the time the Fed starts cutting rates." -- Brian Nelson, CFA

Aug 5, 2023

Apple Breaks Through Uptrend; Expect Modest Market Pullback
Image: Apple has been a strong performer thus far in 2023, but the stock has broken through its uptrend. Further selling may be ahead of shares. In light of Apple’s weighting across major market indices, investors should expect a modest pullback in the markets. On August 3, Apple Inc. reported third-quarter fiscal 2023 results that gave the market a reason to sell its shares. Though the iPhone maker’s quarterly results largely matched the consensus forecasts for both the top and bottom line, year-over-year declines in iPhone, Mac, and iPad sales, while expected, were evident in the quarter, even as its Services business grew meaningfully from last year's period. A technical breakdown in its uptrend sparked selling after the report, but we continue to be in awe of Apple’s financial prowess that continues to showcase a substantial net cash position and tremendous free cash flow generation.

Apr 19, 2023

1Q 2023 Earnings Coming in Better Than Feared Thus Far
Image: We view valuation as a range of probable fair value outcomes. Our updated fair value estimate for Booking Holding stands north of $3,000, while shares are trading at less than $2,700. First-quarter 2023 earnings season has been coming in better than feared, in our view, and bank earnings have not spooked the market as many may have thought they would. But again, any banking crisis takes far more than just a month or two to work through the system, and in the event another shoe drops – whether in Europe or in U.S. commercial real estate or U.S. housing – things could get ugly for the banking sector. We continue to prefer equities over bonds, and as was shown once again during SVB Financial meltdown, the Fed was there once again to bail out the “market” and prevent contagion at any cost. With roughly 10% of the S&P 500 reporting first-quarter 2023 earnings so far, many companies have been beating consensus estimates.

Apr 6, 2023

Legacy of Benjamin Graham
Legacy of Benjamin Graham: The Original Adjunct Professor. This film, brought to you by the Heilbrunn Center for Graham and Dodd Investing, Columbia Business School, premiered on February 1, 2013 at the 16th Annual Columbia Student Investment Management Association conference. Produced by: Louisa Serene Schneider. Shot & Edited by: Christina Choe.