Top Ideas Doing Great

Image Source: Aguayo Samuel By Brian Nelson, CFA Hi everyone: Hope you’re doing great. The S&P 500 (SPY) continues to roar higher. No longer is the market as easy of a call when we pounded the table near the bottom in April 2020, but we remain bullish on the backdrop. The economy remains very healthy, borrowing rates remain near all-time lows, and widespread interest in equities remains elevated given the paltry yields on alternatives such as investment-grade bonds. We continue to let our winners run, though we remain vigilant in protecting the downside. Quietly, the two top holdings in the Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio, Alphabet (GOOG) and Facebook (FB), have raced to outsized performance during 2021, advancing 43%+ and ~21% … Read more

ICYMI: Watch Valuentum’s November 2019 Presentation on ‘Value Trap’ Now!

Watch Valuentum’s November 2019 Presentation on ‘Value Trap’ Now! — To view the November 2019 presentation of Valuentum’s book, Value Trap, please select the following link to continue: — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-n9o9gYKdE&feature=youtu.be — — The November 2019 presentation to the Los Angeles chapter of the American Association of Individual Investors (AAII) of Valuentum’s President of Investment Research Brian M. Nelson’s new book, Value Trap, covers the pitfalls of valuation multiple analysis, traditional quantitative analysis (e.g., value factor, size factor) and the great contradiction between factor investing and the efficient markets hypothesis.  — The November 2019 presentation shows how enterprise valuation rests at the intersection of behavioral economics, quantitative theory, equity valuation and therefore finance itself. Nelson talks about how enterprise valuation can be used … Read more

ICYMI — Video: Exclusive 2020 — Furthering the Financial Discipline

ICYMI — Video: Exclusive 2020 — Furthering the Financial Discipline — — In this 40+ minute video jam-packed with must-watch content, Valuentum’s President Brian Nelson talks about the Theory of Universal Valuation and how his work is furthering the financial discipline. Learn the pitfalls of factor investing and modern portfolio theory and how the efficient markets hypothesis holds little substance in the wake of COVID-19. He’ll talk about which companies Valuentum likes and why, and which areas he’s avoiding. This and more in Valuentum’s 2020 Exclusive conference call.   Note: This video was originally published August 2, 2020.    To watch the video >>   The Theory of Universal Valuation —– Valuentum members have access to our 16-page stock reports, … Read more

Crown Castle Is a Great Income Growth Idea

Image Shown: Crown Castle International Corp has an expansive portfolio of shared wireless infrastructure assets that covers every major market in the US. Image Source: Crown Castle International Corp – First Quarter of 2021 IR Earnings Presentation By Callum Turcan Crown Castle International Corp (CCI) is a high-quality real estate investment trust (‘REIT’) that focuses on shared wireless infrastructure assets. Its expansive portfolio includes 40,000+ towers, ~80,000 route miles of fiber, and ~80,000 small cell nodes. According to Crown Castle, the REIT has a presence in every major US market. As of this writing, shares of CCI yield ~2.9%. Over the long haul, Crown Castle aims to grow its dividend per share and adjusted funds from operations (‘AFFO’) per share … Read more

AT&T Right-Sizing Dividend, WarnerMedia Joining Forces with Discovery

Image Shown: AT&T Inc’s WarnerMedia unit is joining forces with Discovery Inc. This transaction, if it goes through as planned, will create another giant in the video streaming services industry. Image Source: Discovery Inc – Discovery Joining Forces with WarnerMedia IR Presentation By Callum Turcan Despite the upcoming rightsizing of its dividend payout in light of a pending spin-off, the telecommunications and media giant AT&T Inc (T) continues to be one of our favorite income generation ideas. We’re not making any changes to the newsletter portfolios at this time, and the recent news indicates AT&T’s balance sheet is about to improve significantly. Major Transaction On May 17, AT&T announced a major transaction with Discovery Inc (DISCA) that involves AT&T using a … Read more

Best Idea Disney’s Outlook Is Bright and Getting Brighter

Image Source: The Walt Disney Company – December 2020 Investor Day Presentation By Callum Turcan On May 13, The Walt Disney Company (DIS) reported second quarter fiscal 2021 earnings (period ended April 3, 2021) that beat consensus bottom-line estimates but missed consensus top-line estimates. Investors were dismayed that the company’s paid video streaming subscriber base did not grow by as much as expected. However, we are not worried as Disney’s outlook is bright and getting brighter. Though the coronavirus (‘COVID-19’) pandemic has weighed negatively on its business, ongoing vaccine distribution efforts are slowly enabling Disney to open its numerous theme park and resort operations back up (historically, these assets were Disney’s cash-flow cows). For instance, Disneyland and Disneyland California Adventure … Read more

Video: Sports Cards as an Alternative Asset Class

Sports Cards as an Alternative Asset Class Valuentum’s President Brian Nelson explains recent developments in the sports cards and memorabilia market, and why he thinks the area will become a feasible, transparent and liquid alternative asset class for investors to consider in the longer run. Tickerized for CLCT, MUDS, BID, MVP, MSGN, MSGS, VIAC, GTN, BATRA, BATRK, FDMSF, MANU, WWE, NKE, UA, UAA, ADDYY, DIS, ELY, DKS, FWONK, EDR, BETZ, RACE, SEAH, RBAC, SPTKU, PUCKU, SBGI, AKIC, DVD, PLBY —– Valuentum members have access to our 16-page stock reports, Valuentum Buying Index ratings, Dividend Cushion ratios, fair value estimates and ranges, dividend reports and more. Not a member? Subscribe today. The first 14 days are free. Brian Nelson owns shares in SPY, … Read more

ViacomCBS Makes Big Bet on Streaming

Image Source: ViacomCBS Inc – Fourth Quarter of 2020 IR Earnings Presentation By Callum Turcan After Viacom and CBS were reunited in December 2019, the new entity ViacomCBS Inc (VIAC) has finally started to gain some traction on the video streaming front. The service CBS All Access, which has since been rebranded as Paramount+, was largely a dud and did not gain the level of attention that Walt Disney Company’s (DIS) Disney+ service (more on Disney’s video streaming successes here and here), AT&T Inc’s (T) HBO Max service (AT&T’s video streaming growth strategy is picking up steam as we covered here), or Netflix Inc’s (NFLX) namesake service (more on Netflix here) were able to generate. For background, ViacomCBS’s operations include … Read more

ALERT: Raising Cash in the Newsletter Portfolios

January 27, 2021 ALERT: Raising Cash in the Newsletter Portfolios We are raising the cash position in the simulated Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio and simulated Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio to 10%-20%. — By Brian Nelson, CFA — Our research has been absolutely fantastic for a long time, but 2020 may have been our best year yet. You can read the 2020 recap here. With the S&P 500 trading within our fair value estimate range of 3,530-3,920 (and the markets rolling over while showing signs of abnormal behavior), we’re raising the cash position in the Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio and Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio to 10%-20%. — For more conservative investors, the high end of this range may even be larger, especially … Read more