Philip Morris International Issues Favorable Guidance

Image Shown: Philip Morris International Inc’s growth outlook rests heavily on its ability to grow its non-traditional cigarette sales volumes, and so far, the tobacco giant has put up tremendous performance on this front. Additionally, pricing power at its conventional cigarette business is also key, as that helps offset headwinds arising from secular declines in its annual cigarette shipment volumes. Image Source: Philip Morris International Inc – 2021 Investor Day Presentation By Callum Turcan During its 2021 Investor Day presentation held on February 10, tobacco giant Philip Morris International Inc (PM) reaffirmed its 2021 diluted EPS guidance and issued longer term guidance that was quite promising. The seller of Marlboro brand cigarettes in international markets (excluding the US and China) … Read more

Altria May Never Make A Comeback

Image Source: Altria By Brian Nelson, CFA About 15 years ago, I picked up a text from Professor Jeremy Siegel out of the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business, The Future for Investors (1). I must have been at one of his talks. I ended up getting a signed copy from him; it was a neat experience. In any case, perhaps one of the more striking takeaways from his 2005 book was the following excerpt: Some readers may be surprised that (Altria) is a top performer for investors in the face of the onslaught of government restrictions and legal actions that have cost the firm tens of billions of dollars and threaten the cigarette manufacturer with bankruptcy. But in … Read more

Our Thoughts on Philip Morris International’s Latest Earnings Report

Image Shown: Philip Morris International Inc has been able to maintain its global market share in the tobacco industry while pushing through price increases as indicated by its relatively strong ‘Combustible Tobacco Pricing’ performance seen through the first nine months of 2020. Image Source: Philip Morris International Inc – Third Quarter of 2020 IR Earnings Presentation By Callum Turcan Tobacco giant Philip Morris International Inc (PM) reported third quarter 2020 earnings on October 20 which saw the company beat both consensus top- and bottom-line estimates. Philip Morris International also raised its full-year guidance for 2020 in part due to industry volumes holding up better than expected in Indonesia, which raised the minimum selling price for cigarettes while also increasing cigarette … Read more

Valuentum Website Overview

Overview of the key features of valuentum.com/ (03:55). Valuentum (val∙u∙n∙tum) [val-yoo-en-tuh-m] Securities Inc. is an independent investment research publisher, offering premium equity reports, dividend reports, and ETF 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. The Benefits of Premium Membership >> Subscribe Now!

Earnings Update: LMT, ISRG, KO, PM

By Brian Nelson, CFA We released a few preliminary thoughts on second quarter earnings in our note here, but we wanted to elaborate on a few new reports, too. Lockheed Martin (LMT) is included in the Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio (login required), while Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) was highlighted as a COVID-19 play during the March swoon. Coca-Cola (KO) remains an excellent bellwether on the global economy, while Philip Morris (PM) remains a holding in the High Yield Dividend Newsletter portfolio (subscribe). Let’s cover the second quarter reports from these companies in this note. Lockheed Martin Achieves Record Backlog Things are looking good for Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio holding Lockheed Martin. The company’s second-quarter results, released July 21, showed the defense … Read more

Reiterating Our Bullish Long-Term View on Stocks

Reiterating Our Bullish Long-Term View on Stocks Image: The NASDAQ 100 Index remains resilient, bouncing off support, after breaking out to new highs recently. Some of our best ideas are included in the NASDAQ 100, and our favorite concentrations include exposure to big cap tech and large cap growth. We continue to be bullish on equities for the long run. — By Brian Nelson, CFA — Hi everyone, — Hope you are doing great! First, I wanted to let you know that we’re still working to get the second release of the survey out to you. Your participation in the survey will determine whether we launch a new business, so please do fill it out and keep a watchful eye out for … Read more

ICYMI: Survey Coming Later Today, More Market Volatility Expected

ICYMI: Survey Coming Later Today, More Market Volatility Expected Image: The market’s levels of volatility so far in 2020 have been among the greatest in history. Expectations for increased volatility in the marketplace as a result of the proliferation of price-agnostic trading (indexing and quantitative trading) is a key theme of Valuentum’s text, Value Trap: Theory of Universal Valuation. We continue to emphasize the importance of due diligence, enterprise valuation, behavioral thinking, the information contained in prices, and stock selection across equity portfolios. Page 256. — Hi everyone, — Hope you all are doing great!  — Many of you have already filled out the survey, and I can’t thank you enough for that. For those that may have missed the email housing … Read more

*ALERT* Scribbles and More Newsletter Portfolio Changes

*ALERT* Scribbles and More Newsletter Portfolio Changes Image: Why are stock prices increasing while the near-term economy and near-term earnings outlook isn’t as bright as before…How unlimited quantitative easing, runaway government spending, increased inflation expectations impact equity values…Why this year’s earnings expectations or next year’s earnings expectations don’t matter much…Why Valuentum thinks equity values are rising today, even as the near-term outlook remains unclear. Scribbles on page 76 of Value Trap. — “I know it sounds crazy to say so during a global pandemic and during a recession, but the right multiple and the right earnings to use to value this market is an 18-20x multiple on $196 earnings, putting a fair value range on the S&P 500 today of 3,530-3,920. The … Read more

Valuentum Research Update

— Valuentum Research Update — Hi everyone! — Hope you all are doing great! I must say I couldn’t be more pleased with the research we’ve been putting out, and thank you very much for your continued interest. In this piece, I wanted to get some of our latest work to you.  — First, please note that we’ve done a great job holding the line on many of our fair value estimates (ranges) on our website. Many stocks have been bouncing back, and we’re glad we didn’t rush through any updates. Updating fair value estimates (ranges) too frequently doesn’t make much sense to us. We’re after the right answer, not any answer.  — Second, our team has been busy writing up some very … Read more

ICYMI — Stay Optimistic. Stay Bullish. I Am.

  Image: My great-grandfather (second from left) and his buddies in the 88th Division of the United States Army during World War I, at the time of the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918-1919. He would serve under Major General William Weigel, become proficient in the 37mm gun, and take part in the largest offensive in U.S. military history, the Meuse-Argonne Campaign. As a corporal, he would survive the Great War and the Spanish flu pandemic, returning to the U.S. in May 1919 from the port of Saint-Nazaire, France on his way to Omaha, Nebraska.  This article was published May 15, 2020. — New (updated June 4): We continue to encourage members to study the ‘Duration of (Stock) Value Composition’ in Value Trap: Theory of … Read more