Intel Still One of Our Favorite Ideas

Image Source: Intel Corporation – August 2019 IR Presentation By Callum Turcan A holding in both our Best Ideas Newsletter and Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolios, shares of Intel Corporation (INTC) have been on a strong upward tear since August. We continue to like the company as it appears shares of Intel are converging towards the top end of our fair value estimate range ($61 per share), with INTC trading at roughly $58.50 per share as of this writing. Looking ahead, Intel’s solid 2.1x Dividend Cushion ratio provides support for a quality dividend growth story (we rate Intel’s Divided Growth trajectory as EXCELLENT), and shares of Intel yield ~2.2% as of this writing. Image Shown: Shares of Intel appear to be … Read more

Portfolio Holdings Intel and Visa Hit It Out of the Park

Image Shown: Shares of Intel Corporation leapt higher on Friday October 25 as the market digested its solid earnings report and guidance for this quarter. By Callum Turcan Intel One of our favorite Dividend Growth Newsletter and Best Ideas Newsletter portfolios holdings, Intel Corporation (INTC), posted third quarter fiscal 2019 earnings (period ended September 28) on October 24 that handily beat consensus top and bottom line estimates. Revenue in the third quarter on a GAAP basis came in at $19.2 billion, flat year-over-year, which management noted was $1.2 billion higher than guidance issued out in July. This outperformance was driven by Intel’s ‘data-centric’ offerings, with sales up 6% year-over-year, as Intel Xeon processors for data centers sold well. Additionally, Intel … Read more

ICYMI: Interview with Valuentum’s President Brian M. Nelson, CFA

Catch up with Valuentum’s President Brian M. Nelson, CFA in a recent interview with dividend growth investor Arne Magnus Lorentzen Ulland of the blog stockles. By Brian Nelson, CFA Recently, I was interviewed by Arne Magnus Lorentzen Ulland of the blog stockles. Arne is a dividend growth investor like many of you, and I sincerely hope you enjoy the interview he put together. I’m very grateful for his interest. His questions were fantastic. We discuss why and how I incorporate independence and integrity into the service at Valuentum. We go into detail regarding why Valuentum views stocks the way it does, and how Valuentum combines enterprise valuation and the information contained in prices in its stock-selection process. I discuss the pitfalls … Read more

Semiconductors Broadcom and Cree Push Forward in an Uncertain Environment

Image Source: Broadcom Inc – IR Presentation By Callum Turcan Broadcom (AVGO) posted third quarter earnings for its fiscal 2019 on September 12. The semiconductor and enterprise software giant reported GAAP revenues of $5.5 billion (up 9% year-over-year) and non-GAAP diluted EPS of $5.16 (up 4% year-over-year). The initial reaction from Wall Street was pessimistic on September 13 but shares of AVGO climbed later in the trading session to recover some of those initial losses. Reiterating FY2019 Outlook, FY2020 Outlook Uncertain Right off the bat, one thing we think is very important is that Broadcom reaffirmed revenue guidance for FY2019 calling for $22.5 billion in net sales ($17.5 billion from semiconductor solutions and $5.0 billion from infrastructure software sales). However, … Read more

Nvidia Beats Low Expectations and Shares are Rewarded Accordingly

Image Source: Nvidia Corporation – IR Presentation By Callum Turcan Nvidia Corporation (NVDA), like the rest of the semiconductor industry, has been on a wild ride over the past few years. On the one hand, the industry has benefited from the cloud-computing build out and the rise of smartphones, along with the emergence of autonomous driving, the internet of things (“IoT”), machine learning, and artificial intelligence. On the other hand, semiconductors are now contending with headwinds from the bust in the cryptocurrency craze, the sharp slowdown in data center investments due in part to ongoing trade wars, and other factors like excess inventory. Expectations were very low for Nvidia heading into its second quarter FY2020 earnings, released August 15, which … Read more

Our Reports on Stocks in the Broad Line Semiconductor Industry

Image Source: Laineema Structure of the Broad Line Semiconductor Industry The broad line semiconductor industry is characterized by intense competition, rapid technological change, and frequent product introductions. The number and variety of computing devices have expanded rapidly, creating a connected landscape between suppliers and competitors. New market segments have emerged rapidly (smartphones, tablets), and constituents must continuously innovate to maintain share as traditional PC demand faces pressure. Though some firms may gain advantages via the combination of their manufacturing/test facilities with their design teams, we think the structure of the group is poor. We’ve optimized our tehnology coverage. To access the reports, please select here.

Intel Seeks 5G Network and IoT Growth to Offset Data Center Weakness

Image Source: Picture taken by the author. By Callum Turcan A holding in both our Best Ideas Newsletter and Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio, Intel Corporation (INTC) reported earnings on July 25. The semiconductor boosted full-year revenue guidance by $0.5 billion to $69.5 billion while increasing non-GAAP EPS up to $4.40 (from $4.35 previously) for fiscal year 2019, keeping in mind Intel’s top- and bottom-lines are expected to weaken modestly on a year-over-year basis due to poor performance at its data center segment. Management reiterated that Intel still expects to generate $15.0 billion in free cash flow in fiscal year 2019 after spending $15.5 billion on capital expenditures. We like Intel’s free cash flows and income growth trajectory. Shares of INTC … Read more

Broadcom Might Buy Symantec: Why Enterprise Valuation Matters

Image Source: Symantec Corporation – Fall 2018 IR Presentation By Callum Turcan Reportedly, semiconductor Broadcom Inc (AVGO) is getting close to acquiring Symantec Corporation (SYMC) in a deal that could be worth ~$22.0 billion when including debt. Symantec offers cybersecurity services to more than 350,000 organizations and 50 million individuals around the world, and would mark Broadcom’s second big foray into the software space after acquiring CA Technologies for $18.9 billion in cash last year. We would like to take this time to highlight the value of using enterprise cash flow analysis, particularly as it relates to the see-saw trading action in shares of Symantec, and why Broadcom has reportedly shown such interest in acquiring the company.  Image Shown: Symantec … Read more

Broadcom Plummets After Cutting Guidance

Image Source: Florian Knodt Broadcom resets investor expectations, sending shares of the company and peers lower. Broadcom sports a juicy yield. By Callum Turcan Global semiconductor and infrastructure software giant Broadcom (AVGO) spooked the market during its fiscal second quarter report, released June 13, by sharply revising its revenue forecast for FY2019 lower (its FY2019 ends November 3, 2019). Shares of the company finished lower ~6% on the trading session June 14. As of this writing, Broadcom’s shares yield a juicy 4.0% Guidance Moves Lower Earlier this year, Broadcom set some lofty expectations. In its fiscal first quarter FY2019 (ended February 3, 2019) earnings release, released March 14, management issued guidance for the full fiscal year that called for $24.5 billion in … Read more

Markets Swooning, Expect Extreme Volatility, Finger on Put-Option Trigger

Image shown: We notified members December 26 that we had  moved  the Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio and Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio to a “fully invested” position, from a 30% and 20% cash “weighting” at the high end of the range, respectively.  — No change to simulated newsletter portfolios…at this time.  — Hi everyone, — Hope you’re navigating these tumultuous markets well.   — If you recall, during the holiday season last year, we had moved the Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio and Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio to “fully invested.” See image above (point of the arrow). Because many members were traveling and out of the office, not all were able to read the notification until a week or two after. They were … Read more