EXPE

Asset Light, Free-Cash-Flow Generating Powerhouse Bookings Holding (Priceline) Remains One of Our Favorite Ideas

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Image shown: Booking Holdings’ equity has been a strong performer the past few years. By Brian Nelson, CFA Booking Holdings (BKNG), formerly Priceline, has been an idea for consideration in the Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio for some time. A number of our best ideas have a few things in common. For starters, they are asset light, meaning that they generally don’t require lots of reinvested capital to keep their businesses growing. A byproduct of this feature is that they generate considerable free cash flow, and by extension, they have strong cash-rich balance sheets. Booking Holdings fits the bill, and the company has been a strong performer the past few years, as the chart above shows. For those that may not … Read more

Our Reports on Stocks in the Internet Content and Catalog Retail Industry

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Image Source: Robert Scoble Structure of the Internet & Catalog Retail Industry The Internet and catalog retail industry benefits as a whole from the secular trend toward consumer digital (online) consumption. The industry consists of a number of exclusive online retailers led by Amazon and businesses that offer Internet travel services such as Booking Holdings, formerly Priceline. Online auctions are dominated by eBay, and the firm benefits from both a buyer-seller driven network effect and secular online consumption growth. The industry generates high returns on investment due to minimal capital costs, but the landscape will be vastly different in the decades ahead. Still, we like the group. We’ve optimized our tehnology coverage. To access the reports, please select here.

Amazon Contends with Rising Operating Expenses and Shrinking Gross Margins

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Image Shown: Shares of Amazon Inc have stumbled so far in 2019 as the headwinds from rising tariffs, largely a product of the US-China trade war, combined with a competitive cloud computing landscape put downward pressure on its profitability levels. By Callum Turcan Amazon (AMZN) reported third quarter 2019 earnings after the market close on Thursday October 24 that underwhelmed investor expectations and saw shares plummet after-hours. However, shares of AMZN recovered somewhat throughout the trading session on Friday October 25. While GAAP revenues climbed 24% year-over-year to $70.0 billion in the third quarter, GAAP operating income declined 15% year-over-year to $3.2 billion due in part to rising operating expenses (growth in marketing, technology and content, and G&A expenses outpaced … Read more

ICYMI: Interview with Valuentum’s President Brian M. Nelson, CFA

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Catch up with Valuentum’s President Brian M. Nelson, CFA in a recent interview with dividend growth investor Arne Magnus Lorentzen Ulland of the blog stockles. By Brian Nelson, CFA Recently, I was interviewed by Arne Magnus Lorentzen Ulland of the blog stockles. Arne is a dividend growth investor like many of you, and I sincerely hope you enjoy the interview he put together. I’m very grateful for his interest. His questions were fantastic. We discuss why and how I incorporate independence and integrity into the service at Valuentum. We go into detail regarding why Valuentum views stocks the way it does, and how Valuentum combines enterprise valuation and the information contained in prices in its stock-selection process. I discuss the pitfalls … Read more

Booking Holdings Pops, Still Underpriced

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Booking Holdings, formerly Priceline, reported solid second-quarter 2019 results. We continue to believe this Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio holding is undervalued. Our fair value estimate stands at ~$2,130+. By Brian Nelson, CFA Booking Holdings (BKNG), formerly Priceline, was added to the Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio in February 2015, registering a 10 on the Valuentum Buying Index at the time, at ~$1,240 per share. Shares of the company are soaring during the trading session August 8 on news of a strong second-quarter report. Shares currently trade hands for ~$1,950 each. For some of our new members that may not be familiar with Booking Holdings, the company operates the “world’s leading brand for booking online accommodation reservations,” Booking.com. It also operates KAYAK … Read more

Markets Swooning, Expect Extreme Volatility, Finger on Put-Option Trigger

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Image shown: We notified members December 26 that we had  moved  the Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio and Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio to a “fully invested” position, from a 30% and 20% cash “weighting” at the high end of the range, respectively.  — No change to simulated newsletter portfolios…at this time.  — Hi everyone, — Hope you’re navigating these tumultuous markets well.   — If you recall, during the holiday season last year, we had moved the Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio and Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio to “fully invested.” See image above (point of the arrow). Because many members were traveling and out of the office, not all were able to read the notification until a week or two after. They were … Read more

ATTN: Advisors and Planners — Disruption Is Looming

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“With the commoditization of investment advice and intense competition from robos and other more cost-efficient solutions, growth-minded advisors want to create bespoke experiences for clients.” — WealthManagement.com By Brian Nelson, CFA Hi Valuentum members, colleagues and friends, Valuentum has a large subscriber base and is one of the most successful paid subscription financial information websites launched this decade. Over the past eight years or so, individuals, financial advisors and money managers from all over the world have subscribed to our services. We pride ourselves on independence and transparency, and we’re a champion of the investor. Today, I’d like to talk directly to our financial advisor, financial planner, and professional money-manager members. You probably already heard the news yesterday: Charles Schwab, which handles … Read more

DG Newsletter Alert, Markets on a Roll! New Highs Coming?

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Image shown: We notified members December 26 that we had moved the Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio and Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio to a “fully invested” position, from a 30% and 20% cash “weighting” at the high end of the range, respectively. It doesn’t look like the timing could have been much better.  Changes to Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio Removing Novartis (NVS) -3.5%-5.5% Adding Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLV) +3.5%-5.5% By Brian Nelson, CFA The back half of 2018 was among the most exciting in Valuentum’s history. For one, we might have made one of our best “market-direction” calls since inception in practically calling the near-term bottom December 26. In hindsight, it’s clear the market had overreacted, but at the time, going to “fully … Read more

Valuentum’s Stock and Data Screens and Screeners

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Let’s go over where to find Valuentum’s stock and data screens and screeners. We believe our stock screeners are among the most robust when it comes to providing forward-looking data, and our data comes straight from our enterprise discounted cash flow models that we use to derive a company’s fair value estimate. By The Valuentum Team In late 2017, we made the decision to transition to providing an updated Excel download each week to members in order to allow them to facilitate any combination of screening criteria they want with respect to our vast amounts of data, whether it be the Valuentum Buying Index, the Dividend Cushion ratio or other. What we’ve found out the past 15 months or so … Read more

Kraft-Heinz Blows Up, More Updates!

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Image shown: The rating history of Kraft-Heinz (KHC). Valuentum members were warned in advance of this pricey equity in 2016/2017, and the VBI rating never advanced past 5 since then after registering a 1, the worst rating, on two separate occasions. Dear members, I wanted to first of all welcome our new members. There have been a lot of new ones during the past few weeks. Thank you. The buzz might be coming from the new book launch, Value Trap. If you haven’t read the book yet, please do so here. Members can get the pdf digital download today at 25% off. For new members, reading this book is simply par for the course to get a feel for how we look at … Read more