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Valuentum Economic Castleâ„¢ Rating Update

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Read: Keeping the Horse Before the Cart: Valuentum’s Economic Castle™ Rating The Economic Castle Focuses on the Magnitude of Economic Value Creation The Valuentum Economic Castle™ rating is an enhancement of the competitive advantage framework (commonly known as economic moat analysis) that has become widespread and ubiquitous within the investing world. Whereas an economic moat framework evaluates a firm on the basis of the sustainability and durability of its competitive advantages, Valuentum’s Economic Castle™ rating evaluates a firm on the basis of the firm’s future economic profit spread (return on invested capital less its weighted average cost of capital). The companies with the strongest Valuentum Economic Castle™ ratings are poised to generate the most economic value for shareholders in the … Read more

What a Week in Retail: Some Good, Mostly Bad

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The week ending January 10 brought a plethora of news that confirmed our fears: promotional activity during the shortened holiday shopping season of 2013 wasn’t just bad, it was cutthroat. Many retailers were left unable to recover from the ice and winter storms that ravaged much of the US during December/early January. Bed Bath and Beyond (BBBY) Five Below (FIVE), Pacific Sunwear (PSUN), Sears (SHLD) and Zumiez (ZUMZ) all revealed difficult performance during the period. The variant business models of the aforementioned retailers suggest weakness was widespread. Surprisingly, even discount retailing giant Family Dollar (FDO) wasn’t able to lower prices enough to keep customers in the stores. No category seemed to be spared. Needless to say, we’re not expecting much … Read more

Bed Bath & Beyond Rides the Housing Wave

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Wednesday afternoon, home goods retailer Bed Bath & Beyond (click ticker for report: ) posted solid second quarter results thanks to an improving housing market. Revenue increased 8.9% year-over-year to $2.8 billion, slightly above consensus estimates. Earnings-per-share of $1.16 was an improvement of 18% compared to the year-prior and a penny above consensus expectations. Year-to-date, free cash flow sits at $365 million, equal to 6.7% of revenue. Comp Sales Growth Image Source: Company Filings, Valuentum Comparable sales growth accelerated during the second quarter, registering a number that was 3.7% higher than that of the previous year. The two-year stacked comp for the period sits at 7.2%, which we believe is a solid growth rate in a modest retailing environment. Management offers … Read more

Who’s Amazon’s Next Victim?

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An interesting white paper was released recently, analyzing how Amazon (click ticker for report: ) is altering the retail landscape. The paper itself had some interesting insights, but our favorite takeaway of Placed’s work was the top ten companies at risk. 1.    Bed Bath and Beyond (click ticker for report: ) 2.    PetSmart (click ticker for report: ) 3.    Toys ‘R Us 4.    Best Buy (click ticker for report: ) 5.    Sears (click ticker for report: ) 6.    Barnes & Noble (BKS) 7.    Kohl’s (click ticker for report: ) 8.    Target (click ticker for report: ) 9.    Costco (click ticker for report: ) 10. JC Penney (click ticker for report: ) For the most part, we agree with the list, … Read more

Bed Bath & Beyond Posts a Mediocre Third Quarter

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Wednesday afternoon, home store Bed Bath & Beyond (click ticker for report: ) reported lackluster third-quarter sales growth. Revenue fell short of expectations, up 15% year-over-year to $2.7 billion. Earnings, on the other hand, jumped 8% year-over-year to $1.03 per share, a penny better than consensus expectations. Though we don’t expect a material change to our valuation, we plan to update our report soon. Earnings guidance was the real disappointment, as the company provided a fourth quarter earnings range of $1.60-$1.67 per share compared to the consensus calling for $1.75 per share. During the company’s prepared remarks, it blamed the integration of Cost Plus World Market and Linen Holdings for half of the margin weakness in the fourth quarter, with … Read more

Update: Frequently Asked Questions About Valuentum Securities, Inc.

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What is Valuentum Securities? Valuentum (val∙u∙n∙tum) [val-yoo-en-tuh-m] Securities Inc. is an independent investment research publisher, offering premium equity reports and dividend reports, as well as commentary across all sectors/companies, a Best Ideas Newsletter (spanning market caps, asset classes), a Dividend Growth Newsletter, modeling tools/products, and more. Independence and integrity remain our core, and we strive to be a champion of the investor. Valuentum is based in the Chicagoland area. Valuentum is not a money manager, broker, or financial advisor. Valuentum is a publisher of financial information. How do I subscribe to Valuentum’s investment research services? 1)    Click the following link: signup-page. 2)    Select your membership plan. 3)    Enter your contact details. 4)    Click ‘Sign Up.’ 5)    Complete your purchase. 6)   Your payment profile may be recurring, so please check … Read more

How to Think About Corporate Tax Reform

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