CVS

Data from Visa Indicates the Economic Outlook is Improving

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Image Shown: Visa Inc reports that US processed transactions volumes across its payment processing network improved materially on a year-over-year basis in May, relatively speaking, versus the downturn seen in the second half of March and the first half of April. Image Source: Visa Inc – 8-K SEC Filing By Callum Turcan One of our favorite secular growth industry tailwinds is happening in the payment processing, payment solutions, and financial technology space. The world is shifting toward a “cashless” society, and that has accelerated due to the ongoing coronavirus (‘COVID-19’) pandemic, in part due to the rise of e-commerce and in part due to the preference of many consumers to use contactless payment options when in physical stores. Visa Inc … Read more

Valuentum Research Update

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— 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.

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  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

Campbell Soup Sees Its Sales Surge

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Image Source: Campbell Soup Company – Third Quarter of Fiscal 2020 Earnings IR Presentation By Callum Turcan On June 3, 2020, Campbell Soup Company (CPB) reported third quarter earnings for fiscal 2020 (period ended April 26, 2020) and raised guidance for the full fiscal year to reflect the surge in demand for consumer staples goods due to the ongoing coronavirus (‘COVID-19’) pandemic. The firm beat consensus bottom-line estimates but missed consensus top-line estimates. Campbell’s net organic sales (a non-GAAP figure) jumped up by 17% year-over-year (GAAP revenues were up by 15%) and its adjusted diluted EPS (a non-GAAP figure) climbed higher by 57% year-over-year (GAAP diluted EPS was up 34%). Quarterly Update Sales of its ‘meals and beverages’ products rose … Read more

Dow Jones Surges Past 27,000; Bull Market Continues!

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Dow Jones Surges Past 27,000; Bull Market Continues! — By Brian Nelson, CFA — Hi everyone! — What a bull market off the lows we are having. I don’t think we’re finished, as I have pounded the table time and time and time again about how bullish I am. In the words of Frank Sinatra, “The Best Is Yet to Come,” and I truly believe that. Yesterday, I explained to readers why we’re seeing this huge rally, “Stay Optimistic. Stay Bullish. I Am.”  — If you understand the duration and composition of equity value (page 74-83 in Value Trap), you can start focusing on what drives share prices and returns. How else could a market rally this much with 13% unemployment, right? How wonderful it … Read more

Our Thoughts on SelectQuote Going Public

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Image Source: SelectQuote Inc – S-1 filing By Callum Turcan On May 22, the digitally-oriented insurance comparison company SelectQuote Inc (SLQT) went public, and shares of SLQT have performed quite well since then as of this writing, jumping meaningfully from the reference price of $20 per share. The company intends to use some of the proceeds for debt reduction, as it is obligated to allocate at least a quarter of the net proceeds (up to $150 million) of the IPO towards paying down its term loan due November 2024 per a disclosure in SelectQuote’s S-1 filing seen down below: The Senior Secured Credit Facilities require that at least 25% of the net proceeds to the Company from this offering (up … Read more

Dollar General Posts a Tremendous Fiscal First Quarter Earnings Report

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Image Source: Dollar General Corporation – Fiscal 2019 Annual Report and Fiscal 2020 Proxy Statement By Callum Turcan Dollar General Corporation (DG) is one of our favorite retail plays given its focus on smaller cities and towns (with populations of 20,000 or less) in the US as that gives it an immense edge over e-commerce giants such as Amazon Inc (AMZN) due to the logistical hurdles involved with expanding into these regions. Shares of DG have run up above the top end of our fair value range as of this writing. However, given its strong technical and fundamental performance of late, we are keeping Dollar General as an idea in our Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio as we like to let … Read more

Earnings Roundup: Week Ended May 24, 2020

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Image Shown: In this article we cover a variety of companies that reported earnings in May 2020. By Callum Turcan As we get deeper into 2020, more companies have reported earnings that covered how they performed during the early days of the ongoing coronavirus (‘COVID-19’) pandemic on both a financial and operational basis. In alphabetical order by ticker: DE, LOW, NVDA, TGT Deere & Company On May 22, Deere & Company (DE) reported second quarter earnings for fiscal 2020 (period ended May 3, 2020) that saw the net sales at its equipment division fall by almost 20% year-over-year while revenues at its financial services division fell by almost 2% year-over-year. The company expects its worldwide ‘agriculture and turf equipment’ sales … Read more

ALERT: Important Recap of Valuentum’s Research and Market Events

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ALERT: Important Recap of Valuentum’s Research and Market Events: Unequivocally Bullish, S&P Target Range Was Withdrawn Last Month, Continued Focus on Individual Stock Selection with “Moaty” Operations, Huge Net Cash Positions, Strong Expected Future Free Cash Flows, Established Recurring Business Models, and Otherwise Attractive Economic Castles. Big Cap Tech and Large Cap “Growth” Remain Our Favorite Allocations. — Image: Breaking out to new highs, Facebook (FB) is a top weighting in the Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio (which includes our favorite capital appreciation ideas in a portfolio setting). The social media giant is surging on news of a new Shops feature, something we’ve been expecting and raving about with respect to its potential for years–as we maintain our view that, anti-trust considerations aside, Facebook … Read more

Retail Roundup: Home Depot and Walmart Report Earnings

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Image Source: Home Depot Inc – June 2019 IR Presentation By Callum Turcan In this article we cover two major retailers that reported strong comparable store sales growth in the face of the ongoing coronavirus (‘COVID-19’) pandemic. E-commerce offerings and past digital investments have been key to supporting sales growth at major retail firms, and those that haven’t made these investments are in a far worse position than HD and WMT. Home Depot On May 19, Home Depot Inc (HD) reported first-quarter earnings for fiscal 2020 (period ended May 3, 2020) that beat consensus top-line estimates and missed consensus bottom-line estimates. Comparable store sales were up 6.4% year-over-year, including up 7.5% at its US stores. Home Depot announced $850 million … Read more