Weekly: Why We Missed Big on T and FB; Overpriced Staples, Our Call To Action; and More!

In this Valuentum Weekly, in video form, President of Investment Research Brian Nelson, CFA, explains why Valuentum missed big on T and FB, how volatility on names with huge market caps is spiking recklessly, and why the call to action in the book Value Trap remains as relevant as ever given current incentives. ———- 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 more. Not a member? Subscribe today. The first 14 days are free.    Brian Nelson owns shares in SPY, SCHG, QQQ, DIA, VOT, BITO, and IWM. Valuentum owns SPY, SCHG, QQQ, VOO, and DIA. Brian Nelson’s household owns shares in HON, DIS, HAS, NKE. … Read more

Undervalued PINS, SNAP Rallying; FB Incredibly Mispriced, and Refreshed Consumer Discretionary Reports

Image: Valuentum’s Periodic Screener, February 4.  — By Valuentum Analysts — Two of the most undervalued stocks in our coverage Pinterest, Inc. (PINS) and Snap Inc. (SNAP) are indicated to rally hard February 4 after issuing positive earnings reports, providing further evidence of the importance of the discounted cash flow process and the magnet that intrinsic value estimates are to stock prices. Pinterest is indicated up ~14%, while Snap is indicated up ~47% based on the latest information we have. — The refreshed Valuentum periodic data screener is now available for download on our website (it can be found in the ‘Stock Screens’ section in the left column of our website). The periodic data screener, which also includes updated fair value estimates on … Read more

The Facebook (Meta Platforms) Thesis Just Got Even More Complicated

Image: Facebook’s free cash flow generation remains robust. Image Source: Meta Earnings Presentation Q4 2021 By Brian Nelson, CFA We like simple ideas — underpriced investment ideas with moaty characteristics, net cash rich balance sheets, tremendous free cash flow generating potential that are tied to secular growth trends over the long haul. The company formerly known as Facebook, now Meta Platforms (FB), has had all these things going for it, but it is no longer a simple idea. That doesn’t mean we’re abandoning ship, however. No story is perfect. Nevertheless, we’re putting Meta Platform’s fair value estimate under review following its fourth-quarter 2021 results, released February 2, and while we expect shares to still come out underpriced following our model … Read more

Capital Spending a Key Headwind to Broader Markets in 2022

  The undercurrents of the market in 2022 aren’t as strong as we would like, with the Federal Reserve expected to tighten soon and capital spending expected to increase materially, but we continue to like stocks for the long run and don’t see any reason to make any changes to the newsletter portfolios at this time in light of these observations. By Brian Nelson, CFA One of the biggest themes in 2022 is the amount of money companies will spend in capex (“capital expenditures”). A key reduction to net cash flow from operations to arrive at traditional free cash flow is capital expenditures, and we’re seeing some of the largest companies spend aggressively to the detriment of internal free cash … Read more

The Metaverse: Qualcomm Expands Partnership with Microsoft

Image Source: Qualcomm Inc – November 2021 Investor Day Presentation By Callum Turcan A lot of attention has been directed towards the idea of a metaverse, which in short is an expansive digital universe where users can interact with one another via digital avatars of themselves (or whatever avatar the user prefers). This universe could, in theory, combine the functionality of computers and smartphones with almost every digital platform and application in existence. Users could perform both productivity-related activities (collaborating on work projects, holding team meetings, working with clients) and leisure-related activities (playing games with friends and family, meeting up with distant relatives, watching concerts, other live events, TV shows, and movies) in a seamless fashion. The user would not … Read more

Meta Platforms (Facebook), One of the Most Underpriced Stocks on the Market

Image Shown: Meta Platforms Inc – Third Quarter of 2021 IR Earnings Presentation By Callum Turcan In late October 2021, the company now known as Meta Platforms Inc (FB) announced its name change from Facebook to highlight its focus on the “metaverse,” a digital universe that Meta Platforms is investing heavily in. The metaverse is supposed to be a digital world where video gaming, social media, community and family gatherings, TV and movie watching, card game and board game playing, major entertainment events and related venues, and various other activities come together in an immersive experience that ultimately could generate a lot of revenue for Meta Platforms. In 2014, then-Facebook announced it was acquiring Oculus VR, a maker of virtual … Read more

Large Cap Growth Dominates, MLPs Have Suffered

— Sign up to our new options commentary here. — $1,000/year. 4 ideas per month and more! — Image: Win = The options contract was closed as a win. Closed = the options contract was closed at a loss. Expired = The options contract expired worthless. Pie chart above does not consider ideas still open. Data through October 26, 2021. Results are hypothetical. No trading is taking place. Past performance is not indicative of future performance. — Please note that with options trading, investors can lose their entire premium. Don’t ever trade with money that you can’t afford to lose. Valuentum is an investment research publisher and accepts no liability for how readers may choose to utilize the content. By continuing with an … Read more

Facebook’s Third-Quarter 2021 Results Better Than Feared

Image: Facebook continues to put up impressive levels of free cash flow generation. We remain huge fans of the stock. Image Source: Facebook By Brian Nelson, CFA Expectations were low for Facebook’s (FB) third-quarter 2021 results, released October 25, following a read-through from news in recent weeks, including Snapchat’s (SNAP) weak third-quarter performance due to Apple’s (AAPL) iOS 14 changes and supply chain issues that may be slowing ad growth. Though Facebook’s third-quarter results still felt an impact from Apple’s iOS 14 changes and perhaps advertisers slowing some spending due to reduced product availability, the social media giant revealed that it remains a net-cash-rich, free cash flow generating powerhouse that continues to benefit from secular ad growth trends, and one … Read more