Omni-Channel Strategy at Dick’s Sporting Goods Makes It a Long-Term Dividend Growth Idea

Image Source: Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc – Third Quarter of 2020 Earnings Infographic By Callum Turcan The ongoing coronavirus (‘COVID-19’) pandemic, due to the desire of households to socially distance, has driven a meaningful amount of consumer spending to e-commerce platforms. Retailers that invested heavily in their online operations, while also bulking up their omni-channel sales capabilities, were in a much better position when the pandemic hit than those that had to rely largely on their physical footprint. Over the past year, “contactless” delivery options have become much more popular. That includes fulfillment options such as curbside pickup and in-store pickup (usually in specially designated areas), where consumers purchase goods online and then travel to the relevant physical store location … Read more

Dick’s Sporting Goods’ 2%+ Dividend Yield Is Solid

Dick’s Sporting Goods put up impressive third-quarter results that showed strong sales performance across both e-commerce and brick-and-mortar. E-commerce/digital/online sales continue to soar across the broader retail arena. Dick’s Sporting Goods’ gross and merchandising margins were healthy during its third quarter, and its inventory is clean as the sporting goods retailer heads into the all-important holiday season. We’re big fans of Dick’s Sporting Goods’ tremendous free cash flow generation and its balance sheet health. For dividend growth investors, Dick’s Sporting Goods offers a compelling combination of a 2%+ dividend yield and an impressive 3.2 Dividend Cushion ratio at the time of this writing. By Brian Nelson, CFA On November 24, Dick’s Sporting Goods (DKS) reported fantastic third-quarter results that showed … Read more

Lululemon Athletica Buys MIRROR

Image Source: Lululemon Athletica Inc – First Quarter Fiscal 2020 Quarterly Financial Supplements By Callum Turcan On June 29, Lululemon Athletica Inc (LULU) announced it was acquiring home fitness company MIRROR for $500 million in cash. MIRROR sells ~$1,500 (before taxes and installation fees) screens that come with a camera and speaker system that allow users to participate in at-home workouts assisted by trainers/videos. That offering comes with a $39 per month digital subscription which allows the user (or users, up to six people per household) to access on-demand and live workout sessions, and additionally, personal training sessions cost up to $40 each. Overview Lululemon first invested in MIRROR back in mid-2019 and will run the firm as a standalone … Read more

Nike Doubles Down on Its Digital Strategy

Image Shown: Shares of Nike sold off moderately on June 26 after reporting its full-year earnings for fiscal 2020 (period ended May 31, 2020), though please note shares of NKE have rebounded sharply from their March 2020 lows. Over the past year shares of Nike are still up ~15% as of this writing, outpacing the 4% gain seen at the S&P 500 (SPY) before taking dividend considerations into account. By Callum Turcan Retailers of consumer discretionary products that invested heavily in their digital presence and direct-to-consumer sales/distribution systems before the coronavirus (‘COVID-19’) pandemic put themselves in a much better position to ride out the storm. Nike Inc (NKE) reported that its digital sales in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2020 … Read more

Lululemon Supported by Strong Digital Sales

Image Source: Lululemon Athletica Inc – Third Quarter Fiscal 2019 Earnings Infographic By Callum Turcan On June 11, Lululemon Athletica Inc (LULU) reported first quarter fiscal 2020 earnings (period ended May 3, 2020) that missed consensus top- and bottom-line estimates. The company’s strong digital sales were offset by the negative impact of containment efforts to stop the spread of coronavirus (‘COVID-19’), namely store closures (both company-owned and third-party retail locations). Shares of LULU are still up comfortably year-to-date as of this writing, in large part due to its pristine balance sheet and past investments in its digital infrastructure and digital sales channels. We covered these two aspects of its business model and why that would be a source of strength … Read more

Under Armour Potentially Faces a Serious Liquidity Crunch

Image Shown: Under Armour Inc may face a serious liquidity crunch if its creditors don’t extend the maturity length of the borrowings under its revolving credit facility. By Callum Turcan On May 11, Under Armour Inc (UA) reported earnings for the first quarter of 2020 with its GAAP revenues declining by 23% year-over-year, and management attributed ~1500 basis points of that decline to the ongoing coronavirus (‘COVID-19’) pandemic. On the flip side, Under Armour’s GAAP gross margins improved by ~110 basis points year-over-year due to reduced pricing discounts, though COVID-19 weighed against the company’s performance in this area as well. Under Armour reported a GAAP net loss of $590 million in the first quarter of 2020 due to rising operating … Read more

Earnings Roundup: Pinterest and Peloton

Image Source: Peloton Interactive Inc – Second Quarter of Fiscal 2021 Shareholder Letter By Callum Turcan The outlook for the world economy, keeping near-term headwinds in mind, remains bright as global health authorities are actively working towards putting an end to the coronavirus (‘COVID-19’) pandemic largely through ongoing vaccine distribution efforts. As vaccine production scales up, widespread distribution efforts will become a much easier task. We’re continuing with our earnings commentary in this note by covering a social media contender and an upstart exercise company. Pinterest (PINS) On February 4, social media contender Pinterest Inc (PINS) reported fourth quarter earnings for 2020 that beat both consensus top- and bottom-line estimates. Most of Pinterest’s revenues come from its digital advertising business, … Read more