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Recent Articles
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ASML Holding’s Bookings Soar in Fourth Quarter
Feb 1, 2025
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Image Source: TradingView.
We continue to like ASML as an idea in the ESG Newsletter portfolio, and the company’s bookings number for the fourth quarter was solid, helping to alleviate some concerns that arose by its weak third-quarter bookings result. The company’s first-quarter outlook for net sales came in ahead of what the Street was looking for, and we liked that ASML reiterated its total net sales expectation for 2025 to be between €30 billion and €35 billion.
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IBM’s Generative AI Book of Business Doing Well
Feb 1, 2025
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Image Source: TradingView.
For the full year 2024, IBM generated net cash from operating activities, excluding IBM financing receivables, of $13.9 billion and hauled in $12.7 billion in free cash flow for the year, up $1.5 billion, and exceeding dividends paid of $6.1 billion. IBM ended the fourth quarter with $14.8 billion in cash and marketable securities, and debt, including IBM Financing debt of $12.1 billion, totaled $55 billion, down $1.6 billion from the end of 2023. For full year 2025, IBM expects full-year constant currency revenue growth of at least 5% and free cash flow of $13.5 billion for the full year, both measures exceeding the consensus forecast. Shares of IBM yield 2.6% at the time of this writing.
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Apple Reports Best Quarter Ever Despite Declining iPhone, China Sales
Jan 31, 2025
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Image Source: TradingView.
During the quarter, Apple returned to shareholders $3.9 billion in dividends and equivalents and $23.3 billion in share repurchases. Looking to the March quarter, management expects total company revenue to grow low to mid-single-digits year-over-year, with Services revenue to grow low double-digits year-over-year. It expects its gross margin to be between 46.5%-47.5%, about in line with the December quarter. We continue to be fans of Apple’s large installed base (2.35 billion active devices) and growing, high-margin Services business, and the company remains a key holding in the newsletter portfolios.
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Visa’s Free Cash Flow Margins Are Incredible
Jan 31, 2025
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Image Source: Visa.
Visa’s cash and investment securities were $16.1 billion at the end of the calendar year versus short-and long-term debt of $20.6 billion. For the three months ended December 31, operating cash flow was $5.4 billion, up from $3.6 billion in the year ago period. Capital spending came in at $345 million in the quarter, with the firm hauling in free cash flow of $5.05 billion, revealing a free cash flow margin of 53%. Looking to full year 2025, management is targeting low double-digit growth in net revenue and low-teens earnings per share growth. We continue to like Visa as a top weighting in the Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio. The high end of our fair value estimate range stands at $365 per share.
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