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Our Reports on Stocks in the Internet Content & Services Group

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Image Source: Christopher Structure of the Internet Software & Services Industry The Internet software/services industry is composed of a variety of companies with rapidly-changing business models. Most focus on improving the ways people connect with information, either via Internet search or by social media platforms, and generate revenue primarily by delivering cost-effective online advertising. Constituents earn significant returns on invested capital due to their capital-light operations, though competition remains fierce. We expect most companies in this group to look substantially different 10 years from now than they do today. Overall, we’re neutral on the structure. We’ve optimized our tehnology coverage. To access the reports, please select here.

What’s on the Valuentum Team’s Mind?

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Let’s get the Valuentum team’s thoughts on recent developments. No changes to newsletter portfolios. Last Friday, August 16, Bank of America (BAC) CEO Brian Moynihan said in a Bloomberg interview, “We have nothing to fear about a recession right now except for fear of recession.” We sat down with the Valuentum team to get their thoughts. Let’s go around the horn. Callum Turcan: Interesting take, and I get why he thinks that way. The feedback loop of recession fears prompting businesses to invest less which in turn hurts consumer spending by weakening wage growth/employment growth rates thus leading to additional reductions in business investment. However, I think we are past the point of fear being the main enemy. Poor industrial … Read more

Google, Intel — Yes!

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Google, Intel — Yes! — Let’s talk Google and Intel, remind you that we’ve removed Chipotle, Xilinx, and Boeing from the newsletter portfolios some time ago. I’ll talk a little about PayPal’s run higher and address some other themes, including contingent liabilities with J&J and 3M. — By Brian Nelson, CFA — We don’t get everything right, of course, but lately, we’ve been really doing a great job getting the right ideas in front of you! I’m super proud of our team at Valuentum, and I hope that you are capitalizing on our research. — In a prior article, I talked about how Facebook (FB) and Visa (V), two top-weighted ideas in the Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio, were on fire … Read more

Coca-Cola, Visa, and More from Valuentum

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Coca-Cola, Visa and More from Valuentum — Hi everyone, — Hope you’re doing great.  — Just yesterday, we closed out six more ideas in the Exclusive, four capital appreciation ideas and two short-idea considerations, for solid “gains.” The success rates in the Exclusive publication continue to be fantastic. I encourage members to upgrade, to give the Exclusive a chance, to see if the ideas may be of interest. Subscribe to the Exclusive publication here. —  Facebook’s Meteoric Rise — Image: The market doesn’t offer opportunities like this every day. I’d say we might see something so obvious, so opportunistic, maybe once every couple years. That was Facebook in late 2018. It’s now up 60%+ from its 52-week low. — We have a lot … Read more

In the News: Second-Quarter Earnings Season Begins

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Second-quarter earnings season is upon us. The markets aren’t expecting much growth. Core industrial names may not fare well, but thus far, big pharma is solid. We’re not making any changes to the newsletter portfolios. By Brian Nelson, CFA We’re off to the races with second-quarter earnings season. The markets aren’t expecting much, with the consensus for S&P 500 (SPY) companies to experience a 3% earnings decline, according to FactSet. If this happens, this would mark the first time S&P 500 companies, in aggregate, would have posted year-over-year declines since the first half of 2016. The markets have rallied considerably since then, and despite the strong earnings expansion aided in part by corporate tax cuts, the 12-month forward P/E ratio … Read more

Visa, Concentration Bets and Facebook’s Gift

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Image: In late December, we increased the position in Facebook (FB) while shares were in the mid-$130s. The stock is up huge since then.     Order Value Trap here.    Hi everyone,   I’m still enjoying my get-away. It feels like it has been about 8 years since I’ve been able to totally tune out of the markets for a day or two, but here I am writing to you anyway. I really appreciate your being there. I really mean it. Today, I wanted to talk a little about concentration bets.   First, however, I want to emphasize the importance of diversification. I’m not going to go into the quantitative explanation, but rather, keep it really simple: it’s better … Read more

Value Trap Is Winning And So Are You!

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Image: Value Trap received acclaim at the prestigious Next Generation Indie Awards at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington DC. Shown: Value Trap at the American Library Association conference Headline Books booth June 22.     Order Value Trap here.    Hi everyone,   This week has been met with a lot of traveling, and I thank you for your patience as I seek to catch up on your emails. Also, please note the weekly datascreener will not be updated this week, but refreshed upon our team’s return to the offices next weekend.   For starters, I want to thank each and every one of you out there for your continued support. The field of finance has simply been turned upside … Read more

US Government Launches Anti-Trust War Against Alphabet, Apple, and Facebook

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Image shown: Technology shares took a beating during the trading session June 3. The DOJ and FTC are coming after Alphabet, Apple and Facebook, and we can’t help but feel the moves are in some ways politically motivated. Even if regulators decide to break up these companies, it doesn’t mean they will “confiscate” their businesses. Worst case scenario, perhaps pieces of their businesses would be auctioned off at arguably above-market prices, which could be a net positive. By Brian Nelson, CFA Nobody seemingly wants big “new” tech to win, and while such a dynamic may counterintuitive turn them into great long-term investments as a result, the stock-price behavior by some of the tech heavyweights, including Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL) and Facebook … Read more

Cisco Delivers, Deere Disappoints, Pinterest Plummets, More Reports

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Cisco Delivers, Deere Disappoints, Pinterest Plummets, More Reports — In alphabetical order by ticker symbol: AMAT, BIDU, CSCO, DE, FLO, INTC, JACK, PINS, WMT — Applied Materials (AMAT): Applied Materials reported better-than-expected second-quarter fiscal 2019 results May 16, but the headline print wasn’t that exciting. Revenue dropped 23%, its operating margin gave back 6.3 percentage points, and diluted earnings per share dropped 34%, but the results were “toward the top-end of (its) guidance range, reflecting solid execution across the company in a business environment that remains challenging.” The chip-maker’s risk profile is too high for our taste, and we just have a hard time getting comfortable with the instability of operating results. We value shares of Applied Materials at $48 each, … 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