INTC

Staying Far Away from Intel; McDonald’s a Better Play

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By Brian Nelson, CFA On October 26, Intel (INTC) reported third-quarter earnings that left a lot to be desired. Revenue fell 8% on a year-over-year basis, while the company’s earnings per share dropped 72%, to $0.07. Management tried to spin the quarter as coming in better-than-expected, but the reality is that Intel’s business transformation is testing even the most patient of investors. At the end of September, Intel held ~$25 billion in cash versus short-term debt and long-term debt of ~$2.3 billion and ~$46.6 billion, respectively. For the first nine months of 2023, Intel’s cash flow from operations dropped to ~$6.8 billion, and it spent ~$19.1 billion in additions to property, plant and equipment. Revenue and earnings pressure, a massive … Read more

ICYMI: Questions for Valuentum’s Brian Nelson

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Valuentum’s President Brian Nelson, CFA, answers your questions. Q: What Is Valuentum? A: In short, it is a strategy that combines the concepts of value and momentum within individual stocks. We measure value through the cash-based sources of intrinsic value – net cash on the balance sheet and future expected free cash flow. We measure momentum rather simply, generally via relative strength or other technical and momentum indicators. We like stocks with strong net cash positions on the balance sheet, ones that are generating tremendous free cash flow, and have strong secular growth prospects such that the prospect for expectations of free cash flow can continue to be ratcheted higher. Today, most Valuentum stocks are included in the stylistic area … Read more

Apple’s Big “Wonderlust” Event Is Business as Usual

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Image Source: Apple By Brian Nelson, CFA On September 12, Apple Inc. (AAPL) hosted its widely-anticipated “Wonderlust” event. The market was anticipating several new products, and Apple delivered. The firm’s iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15, Apple Watch Series 9, and Apple Watch Ultra 2 will go a long way to retaining share in smartphones and wearable devices, but the company opted to leave prices unchanged. Many had been expecting a price increase, but we’re not reading too much into Apple’s decision to leave them unchanged, given economic uncertainty in the U.S., Huawei’s release of its latest phone (the Mate 60 Pro) and rising geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and China. The iPhone 15 Pro frankly looks awesome, and it is … Read more

Report Updates — Did You Throw the Baby Out with the Bathwater?

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Hi everyone: Brian here. I hope you are having a nice Labor Day holiday weekend.  We wanted to bring your attention to a number of stock report updates. Both Alibaba (BABA) and Korn/Ferry (KFY) have registered one of the highest ratings (9) on the Valuentum Buying Index. To garner such a high rating, a company would have to be considered undervalued on a discounted cash-flow basis, undervalued on a relative value basis, as well as exhibiting strong technical/momentum indicators. Alibaba looks like it could pop quite a bit from current levels after technically basing for months, and while risks related to the name are tremendously high given rising U.S.-China tensions, shares sure look undervalued to us. Korn/Ferry’s shares also look … Read more

A New Computing Era Has Begun — Nvidia Delivers Yet Again

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By Brian Nelson, CFA When we first wrote that Nvidia (NVDA) would power this market higher back in May, the firm had just put up one of the most prolific earnings beats I had ever seen. I’d have to go back almost 20 years to the invention of Apple’s iPod click-wheel technology to remember something that came close. Well, on August 23, Nvidia just put up another monster quarter, this one the second of its fiscal year 2024, beating top-line and bottom-line consensus estimates by a huge margin for the period ending July 30. We’ve raised our fair value estimate of Nvidia considerably following the blockbuster second-quarter performance and third-quarter outlook, released today, and the race is on to adopt … Read more

Subscribe to the Valuentum ESG Newsletter!

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*BONUS* Included in the ESG Newsletter is an ESG-focused simulated newsletter portfolio! Subscribe today. ESG Newsletter $1,000.00 Pay now “The investing landscape has changed dramatically over the past decade and part of that transformation has involved US households placing a much greater emphasis on “ethical” and “sustainable” investing strategies. A decade ago, funds managed with Environmental, Social, and Governance (‘ESG’) standards in mind were a small part of the investing universe at-large, but that is no longer the case. Data from Morningstar notes that US funds considered “sustainable” reported $21.5 billion in net inflows during the first quarter of 2021, up from $20.5 billion in net inflows in the fourth quarter of 2020 and roughly five times greater than the … Read more

Apple’s ‘Vision Pro’ Not in Our Valuation Model; Expect Upside

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Image: Apple released its first major product since the Apple Watch in the Vision Pro on June 5. The device opens the door to the era of spatial computing and is priced at $3,499. By Brian Nelson, CFA Apple (AAPL) unveiled its Vision Pro at the company’s Worldwide Developers Conference on June 5. We were impressed with the new major product launch, its first since the release of the Apple Watch nearly a decade ago but estimating the total market opportunity for a $3,499 device is a difficult one. The Vision Pro will be available in early 2024 and will compete in many areas with the Meta (META) Quest, and we expect Apple’s annual numbers come next year to be … Read more

Call Me Unconcerned

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Image: Large cap growth has dominated returns the past five years. The Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio continues to have significant exposure to this area. By Brian Nelson, CFA When it comes to the financial markets, the debt ceiling debate is nothing to worry about. Countries (sovereigns) cannot generally default on debt that is denominated in their own currency. The concern that there will be any sort of calamity if the U.S. government doesn’t raise the debt ceiling is far overblown, in our view. The political will of the U.S. to pay its debt will only resolve itself in time, and any risk premium built into Treasuries as a result of the debt ceiling showdown will be fleeting. Of course, nobody … Read more

Nice! — NASDAQ-100 Follows Through on Breakout

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Image: NASDAQ-100 breaks through August 2022 resistance. NOW READ: There Are No Free ‘Income’ Lunches ———- It’s Here!  The Second Edition of Value Trap! Order today!   —– Tickerized for holdings in the QQQ. Brian Nelson owns shares in SPY, SCHG, QQQ, DIA, VOT, BITO, RSP, and IWM. Valuentum owns SPY, SCHG, QQQ, VOO, and DIA. Brian Nelson’s household owns shares in HON, DIS, HAS, NKE, DIA, and RSP. Some of the securities written about in this article may be included in Valuentum’s simulated newsletter portfolios. Contact Valuentum for more information about its editorial policies.         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 … Read more

Not Worried About Global PC Demand Weakness

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Image Source: IDC By Brian Nelson, CFA On April 9, International Data Corporation (IDC) issued preliminary findings for the first quarter of 2023 for global personal computer (PC) shipments in its Worldwide Quarterly Personal Computing Device Tracker. The results were a bit surprising, with the firm noting that “weak demand, excess inventory, and a worsening macroeconomic climate were all contributing factors for the precipitous drop in shipments of traditional PCs during the first quarter of 2023.” According to the IDC report, global PC shipments fell 29% to 56.9 million compared to the first quarter of 2022. Apple (AAPL) experienced the biggest year-over-year percentage decline, where shipments fell more than 40%. Dell Technologies (DELL), Lenovo (LNVGY) (LNVGF) and ASUS experienced declines … Read more