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Schlumberger and Liberty Oilfield Services Make a Deal

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Image Shown: Schlumberger NV is combining its OneStim business with Liberty Oilfield Services Inc. The picture above is an overview of the combined company on a pro forma basis. Image Source: Liberty Oilfield Services Inc – Schlumberger to Contribute OneStim to Liberty IR Presentation By Callum Turcan On September 1, Schlumberger NV (SLB) and Liberty Oilfield Services Inc (LBRT) announced that Schlumberger would combine its onshore hydraulic fracturing business in the US and Canada, OneStim, with Liberty Oilfield Services. That includes Schlumberger’s pressure pumping and pumpdown perforating businesses in the relevant regions, and its frac sand business in the Permian Basin (West Texas and Southeastern New Mexico). In return, Schlumberger is getting a 37% equity stake in Liberty Oilfield Services … Read more

Valuentum Website Overview

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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!

Berkshire Hathaway Is Finally Putting Its Enormous Cash Pile to Use

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Image Shown: Shares of Berkshire Hathaway Inc Class B are recovering from the steep pandemic-induced fall as the company has started to put its enormous cash-pile to work. By Callum Turcan On August 31, Berkshire Hathaway Inc (BRK.A) (BRK.B) announced it had  “acquired slightly more than 5% of the outstanding shares in five of the leading Japanese trading companies” and that the firm considered these to be “passive stakes.” Those positions were acquired over approximately the past year through purchases made on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Here are the five companies in alphabetical order (by ticker): Itochu Corporation (ITOCF), Marubeni Corporation (MARUF), Mitsui & Co. Ltd. (MITSF), Mitsubishi Corporation (MSBHF), and Sumitomo Corporation (SSUMY). Berkshire As of June 30, 2020, … Read more

Berkshire Hathaway Recovering Lost Ground

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Image Shown: Shares of Berkshire Hathaway Inc Class B started to recover some of their lost ground in early-July, and the company’s second quarter earnings report has kept the momentum going in the right direction. By Callum Turcan On August 8, Berkshire Hathaway Inc (BRK.A) (BRK.B) reported second quarter 2020 earnings that beat consensus top- and bottom-line estimates. Due to the impressive recovery in US equity markets (SPY) since bottoming in late-March, Berkshire Hathaway’s investment portfolio put up tremendous performance last quarter, though its first quarter performance was harrowing. We include Berkshire Hathaway Class B (ticker BRK.B) as a holding in our Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio. Earnings Overview Unrealized gains on investments offset a large impairment charge relating to Berkshire … Read more

Berkshire Hathaway Expands Its Bet on North American Natural Gas

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Image Shown: A look at the Cove Point LNG export facility in Maryland, one of half a dozen that are currently operational in the US. Image Source: Dominion Energy Inc – February/March 2018 Fixed Income Investor Meetings Presentation By Callum Turcan On July 5, Berkshire Hathaway Energy, a majority-owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway Inc (BRK.A) (BRK.B), announced it was acquiring natural gas pipeline and storage assets along with an equity stake in a liquified natural gas (‘LNG’) export facility in Maryland from Dominion Energy Inc (D). This deal is valued at $9.7 billion by enterprise value and is expected to close by the fourth quarter of 2020. We continue to like Berkshire Hathaway in the Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio. Berkshire … Read more

Reiterating Our Bullish Long-Term View on Stocks

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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

Exxon Mobil Puts on a Brave Face

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Image Source: Exxon Mobil Corporation – November 2019 Guyana IR Presentation By Callum Turcan Near-term oil prices and most importantly, the oil price futures curve, have improved materially since just a couple of months ago when it looked like the sky was falling. For the first time ever, WTI turned negative in April 2020 for physical deliveries due May 2020 of light sweet oil to Cushing, Oklahoma, as storage options were limited (and arguably, many speculators had jumped into the market not fully aware of the risks they were taking on). Exxon Mobil Corporation (XOM) has seen its share price recover considerably since the drop, though we caution that management’s commitment to the dividend will prove a hard task if … Read more

ICYMI: Survey Coming Later Today, More Market Volatility Expected

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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

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*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

5 Years Later – #ThrowbackThursday on MLPs

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Image: Since Valuentum warned against the significant risks of the MLP business model June 11, 2015, on a price basis, the Alerian MLP ETF (AMLP) has fallen by more than 65%, while the S&P 500 has surged nearly 50%. There have been dozens and dozens of explicit (or phantom) MLP distribution cuts since we released our thesis 5 years ago to this day, and many MLPs have subsequently simplified their business models, rolling up into C-corps, as we predicted. By Brian Nelson, CFA 5 years ago, on June 11, 2015, Valuentum released its bearish case on Kinder Morgan (KMI) and the MLPs, a view that was highlighted on Barron’s.com and debated for months thereafter on various social media and website … Read more