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Agriculture Stands Out During DuPont’s Fourth Quarter

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Industrial bellwether DuPont (click ticker for report: ) reported somewhat weak fourth-quarter results Tuesday morning, but the firm’s previously announced strong outlook trumped the report. Revenue during the quarter was flat year-over-year at $7.3 billion, roughly as the consensus anticipated, though full-year revenue grew 3% to $34.8 billion. Earnings from continuing operations were slightly better than expected, down 58% compared to a year ago at $0.11 per share. DuPont’s agricultural segment posted improved results, with revenue jumping 18% year-over-year to $1.5 billion. Although the fourth quarter generally includes losses in the segment, performance continues to improve, as shown below (Image Source: Q4 2012 DD Earnings Presentation). The strength in agriculture doesn’t surprise us, as the demand for food continues to grow … Read more

Monsanto Crushes the Quarter on Strong Seed Demand

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Following the weak North American farm yields in 2012, demand for Monsanto’s (click ticker for report: ) enhanced seed products drove fantastic fiscal year 2013 first quarter results. Revenue increased 21% compared to the same period a year ago to $2.9 billion, well above consensus estimates. Earnings grew 169% year-over-year to $0.62 per share, well in excess of consensus expectations. The results came as a bit of a surprise, even after seed competitor DuPont (click ticker for report: ) announced that it expected agricultural sales to accelerate in 2013, as the firm did a fantastic job increasing profitability. Sales of corn seed and traits surged 27% year-over-year to $1.1 billion, driving the 14% revenue increase in Monsanto’s seed and genomics … Read more

There Is Milk At The Store

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This article first appeared in the September edition of the High Yield Dividend Newsletter. For more information about this publication, please see here. “Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.” — Winston Churchill By Brian Nelson, CFA Very few of us could have imagined that we’d witness the bull market that began on that fateful day in March 2009 that might very well mark a generational low. In 2009, major investment banks around the globe were struggling to survive, and the fallout in the mortgage markets left the banks holding paper that nobody wanted to own, let alone buy. The global financial system … Read more

Nelson: The 16 Most Important Steps To Understand The Stock Market

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A previous version of this article appeared on our website July 21, 2013. Refreshed and updated throughout, as of July 2018. By Brian Nelson, CFA After earning my MBA at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and training stock and credit analysts from large organizations over the past decade or so, I have heard just about every question (though I admit I am still surprised by many things and remain a very humble student of the markets). I’ve also spent years perfecting the discounted cash flow process for large research organizations such as Morningstar and studied under one of the most famed aggressive growth investors of all time, Richard Driehaus. My knowledge runs the gamut from value through … Read more