GME

Resetting Your Mental Model

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Image Source: affen ajlfe A version of this article was originally published on our website October 6, 2013. Having the right mental model and using the right information can be the reason why you win or lose in investing. “What is the definition of timeliness? Many believe it is getting information to investors as quickly as possible after an event, or updating something every single day or week for immaterial information. I believe in a different definition of timeliness. I believe timeliness is using all information available in a mosaic approach to accurately predict the event before it even happens. Take Kinder Morgan as the latest example. We were the only ones predicting what was going to happen before it did. To investors, … Read more

Our Reports on Stocks in the Specialty Retailers Industry

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Images Source: Mike Mozart (Home Depot, Lowes) Structure of the Specialty Retailers Industry The specialty retail segment is fragmented, highly competitive, and economically-sensitive. The group covers a broad array of businesses and is dominated by retailers with large brick-and-mortar store footprints. Though some constituents may be insulated from e-commerce competition, others risk obsolescence as product distribution moves to digital means, and online retailers offer lower prices for identical goods and services. We’re fairly neutral on the structure of the industry, though some constituents will inevitably face secular and permanent declines. For coverage of firms in the Specialty Retailers Industry, please click here. 

GameStop’s Problems Continue

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Image Source: GameStop Corporation – Fourth Quarter Fiscal 2018 Earnings IR Presentation By Callum Turcan On December 10, video game retailer GameStop Corp (GME) reported third quarter earnings for its fiscal 2019 (13-week period ended November 2, 2019) that were simply terrible. Shares of GME were down big after-hours on December 10. GAAP net sales were down 26% year-over-year last quarter, hitting $1.4 billion, while the company’s GAAP operating loss came in at ~$0.05 billion, an improvement versus an operating loss of $0.5 billion (due to a large goodwill impairment charge) in the same period last fiscal year. GameStop halted its common dividend program in the middle of 2019, which freed up substantial cash flow for share buybacks and deleveraging … Read more

Best Buy’s Rebound Continues

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Image Shown: Best Buy Co Inc has staged an impressive rebound over the past few years. This rebound was aided by significant investments in its digital presence, recognizing the core markets Best Buy wanted to target, and ultimately comparable store sales growth.  By Callum Turcan On November 26, Best Buy (BBY) reported third quarter earnings for its fiscal 2020 (three month period ended November 2, 2019) that beat both top- and bottom-line consensus estimates. Even better, Best Buy raised its guidance for fiscal 2020, largely on the back of stronger than expected same-store sales growth. Best Buy’s update helped send shares of BBY over our fair value estimate of $76 per share, and if this outperformance is sustained, the retailer … Read more

Berkshire Hathaway Invests in RH, a Quality Company in Our View

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Image Shown: RH now counts Berkshire Hathaway Inc as a shareholder, which saw shares of RH initially spike up on the news. By Callum Turcan In a recent regulatory filing, Berkshire Hathaway Inc (BRK.A) (BRK.B) announced it had acquired a ~$0.2 billion stake in upscale home-furnishings company RH (RH), formerly known as Restoration Hardware Holdings, by initiating a position in the company’s equity. Please note RH does not pay out a common dividend at this time, indicating Berkshire Hathaway is seeking capital appreciation with this investment. Additionally, RH’s fiscal 2018 ended on February 2, 2019. Business Overview As of February 2, 2019, RH operated 86 galleries and showrooms across the US, Canada, and the UK. That includes galleries highlighting offerings … 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

Tesla and GameStop Face Selling Pressure After Notable Disappointments

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Image Source: Kamil Murat Yılmaz Tesla reported a significant shortfall in its first quarter 2019 deliveries amid global distribution growing pains, which called in to question its ability to deliver on its reiterated guidance for 2019. Meanwhile, video game retailer GameStop continues to face challenges presented by headwinds beyond its control and expects its revenue contraction to accelerate in fiscal 2019. We’re not interested in shares of either company. By Kris Rosemann Tesla’s First Quarter Deliveries Disappoint, But Full Year Guidance Reiterated Electric car maker Tesla (TSLA) stumbled out of the open April 4 after its April 3 release of its first quarter 2019 deliveries figure, which came in markedly short of expectations. 63,000 deliveries in the quarter was more … Read more

The Dividend Cushion Ratio Was Ahead of Tupperware’s Cut

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Image shown: Tupperware’s landing page at Valuentum after the company announced a ~60% dividend cut. Tupperware slashed its dividend before the Dividend Growth Newsletter hit your inboxes Friday evening. The company was included at the bottom of a list of companies with the highest multiplicative combination of Dividend Yield x Dividend Cushion ratio (mostly due to its outsize yield). The Dividend Cushion ratio flagged it as an outsize risk, nonetheless, and it was not included in any simulated newsletter portfolio. By Kris Rosemann On January 30, prior to the release of the February Dividend Growth Newsletter, Tupperware (TUP) announced that it would cut its dividend. The company had been yielding at a high-single-digit rate, but that was a red flag, as … Read more

Valuentum Stock Screeners

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This article was sent to members via email December 29. That email can be accessed at the link that follows this article. By Brian Nelson, CFA Hi everyone, I wanted to provide an update with respect to Valuentum’s stock screeners. We believe our stock screeners are among the most robust when it comes to providing forward-looking data, or data that is important with respect to the investment decision-making process. We publish screens in each of the monthly newsletters, but we also provide a basic weekly screener for download on the left column of the website, “Download Weekly Stock Screener (xls) — login required.”   We also have other products. The more robust DataScreener, for example, is part of the quarterly Financial … Read more